Despair in Cornwall town as abandoned 'eyesore' now a haven 'squatters and arson'

A historic port town in Cornwall is being marred by an abandoned £40 million student accommodation development, which has become a magnet for squatters and fly-tippers. The half-finished block, intended to house 528 students in Penryn, has been vacant since the contractors went bust three years ago.

Residents and politicians are now calling for action, claiming that the massive 'white elephant' has caused the once vibrant community spirit to be 'eroded'. This week, the site was targeted by arsonists and has been labelled a large and dangerous 'eyesore' casting a gloomy shadow over the town. The suspected arson attack has led to calls to either make the building safe and liveable or demolish it.

Penryn, located near Falmouth, has a population of just 8,500 and was once a significant harbour, shipping granite and tin across the country and the world during the medieval period.

In recent years, it has become a popular tourist destination but an abandoned construction project has left residents furious.

James Clewett spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, issuing a stark warning. He said: "The building being a s**t-heap is attracting a generally higher level of delinquency, especially this summer holiday.

"My neighbours and I are desperate. Living next door to an increasingly derelict mess, that is attracting the worst kind of human behaviour, is becoming a genuine burden that we're all carrying. I want to scream that from the rooftops - please give us our community back.

"The fire was clearly arson, there was a scorched metal flask left at the site that we all suspect contained petrol, and probably the same group of teens were seen fleeing the site.

"Everyone called the fire brigade. I took a couple of irreplaceable items out of my house and put them in my car, which my neighbour moved down the street for me - while I stood with a hose pipe dousing the trees until the big boys arrived with a proper hose and sorted it out. It was genuinely pretty frightening. I was never in fear for my life, but it was easy to imagine everything else going up in smoke.

"Hopefully this will create some impetus to actually return the field to the community. We have been pushing hard for a couple of years now to have the field put back as a football pitch. It was only rented as a depot for six months. That was five years ago, it's time to give it back. The whole situation is a mess."

He added to the Sun: "I wasn't excited about living near 500 students but this is much worse. People climb the scaffolding to get through the windows so I presume there's a thriving community of squatters in there.

"It is immensely overbearing. A building that size doesn't belong in Penryn."

The local MP for Truro and Falmouth, Jayne Kirkham, declared the student accommodation had transformed into both a hazardous zone and perpetual nuisance for neighbouring residents and businesses.

She has now called for "definitive action" to force the owners to address the building's issues. She stated: "Monday night's fire next to Penryn's purple block is extremely worrying and nearby residents are rightly concerned. Thanks to the Cornwall Fire Service for dealing with it so quickly - however this half-built block has become a safety hazard.

"Penryn Town Council and local residents have been tirelessly campaigning for action but very little has happened for three years.

"We need definitive action - to make the site safe, take it down or finish the build. I will be meeting with the building's owner's representative again and working with the councils to get the action local residents need and deserve."