UR TV CAST

The biggest factor is the cost of cyclical decoration every five years. From 1999 to 2005, they increased almost four-fold, from £794.67 to £3,093.24 for the largest units. The latest annual increase was a whopping 60 per cent and residents now pay similar charges to those that would be applied at luxury developments with features such as 24-hour porterage, lifts and leisure facilities.The combination of service charges, rent and the mortgage on the owned proportion means that residents – who include teachers, health workers and childminders – believe that they are paying more for participating in this “affordable” housing scheme than it would have cost to have started out by buying an equivalent property in the conventional way.”When we originally considered the shared ownership scheme, the annual service charge quoted was £485.56,” says one resident, Peter McCulloch, 46, a registered childminder. “Shortly after we had submitted our acceptance form, we were informed that there had been a mistake and that the annual service charge was, in fact, £794.67. As well as numerous frustrations such as repair delays, annual service charges rocketed. When the Metropolitan Housing Association (aka Metropolitan Home Ownership) renovated the High Cross Girls’ School in Tottenham, north London, in 1999, and transformed it into 28 dinky, light and spacious affordable properties for key workers and people on lower incomes, there was no shortage of takers.

It was billed as the ultimate shared home ownership scheme, offering loft-style living for key workers. Cottages in good condition, surrounded by unspoilt countryside, can go for less than £80,000.The rugged, unspoilt county of Sutherland, north of Inverness, with its dramatic scenery and rugged coastline, is a good source of quality, inexpensive Highland property. This award-winning scheme was soon recognised as an excellent example and the people who took up the offer saw a fantastic opportunity to join the property ladder and live in a solidly built and secure building, oozing architectural charm – indeed, one of the most historic buildings in the area.Yet soon after participants in the scheme moved into their new homes, things went downhill. After weeks and months of single-minded planning, it now emerges that the management are far from convinced of their ?te combination. Tomorrow, when England play what should be a 60-pointer against Uruguay, they are thinking of experimenting with Phil Vickery at loose-head prop, a role he has rarely performed at any serious level of the sport.Concern over Trevor Woodman’s form and fitness make this an obvious tactic, but there is more to it than is apparent on the surface. And Ben Ainslie trained at the sailing school in Flushing.Weather wise Its microclimate means the village enjoys the mildest temperatures in EnglandHow to get thereFlights from London Stansted to Newquay airport, which is 35 minutes’ drive away.Special eventsEnjoy crabbing competitions and snail races? Flushing holds its annual regatta every summerCost of livingHouse prices from £185,000 for a cottage to well over £2mFlushing’s USPVery little holiday traffic, as the town is situated at the end of the Trefussis Road. There is also a sand-sculpture competition on the Trefussis beach.When Mary Louisville moved to her quayside cottage in Flushing from London two years ago, she and her husband had spent months trawling through isolated countryside buildings in need of renovation.”The area is the perfect compromise for us; the children have everything they need in Falmouth, and they can nip across the water on the ferry to meet their friends.

The locals take part in swimming and sailing races, including the mad bath-tub race, crabbing competitions, greasy pole fights, and snail races. There is also a primary school which is attended by village children and others from across the water in Falmouth. And we have great bands down here, such as Athlete, who played during Falmouth Week. Flushing is a living fishing village, where the boats go out in all weathers. The only noise that disturbs us at night is the sound of the fishermen landing their catch on the quay outside our house.”There is a huge range in property prices, but the market is comparable to London, with prices starting at £185,000 for a two-bedroom cottage.Fact BoxCelebrity quotaEllen MacArthur recently landed at nearby Falmouth after completing her record-breaking solo sailing trip. A ferry runs hourly throughout the day, half-hourly in the summer, taking schoolchildren, commuters and shoppers on the five-minute trip across the estuary to Falmouth, from where the Enterprise boats make frequent journeys up the river to Truro. Other ferries run the trip to St Mawes and Frenchman’s Creek in Helford.As a sailing centre, Flushing is unsurpassed, and most of the locals own boats of one type or another.

Around the headland from Flushing, Mylor Sailing School, a former training ground for Ben Ainslie, the Olympic medallist, provides excellent tuition for keen sailors. There are yacht clubs at Falmouth, Mylor and Flushing, and plenty of moorings at all the waterside pubs.Every summer, Flushing holds its annual regatta week. Most of the buildings are tastefully renovated 17th- and 18th-century houses, elegantly built in the Dutch Cape style, which sit side by side with some of Cornwall’s finest waterside mansions.Crucially, its situation at the end of the Trefussis road means that Flushing is spared the onslaught of holiday traffic that plagues so much of Cornwall – the narrow waterside streets of the village provide a safe environment and children run around unfettered.The village has a post office, two pubs and a village shop, as well as a popular fish restaurant that sits right on the quay, The Sticky Prawn. With a south-westerly aspect, the houses bask in the summer sun and the quay becomes bakingly hot.Ten miles from Truro, with a mainline train service running directly to Paddington in four-and-a-half hours, Flushing is ideally situated for those who wish to enjoy some of the finest day sailing in the country, but who still appreciate city life: air travellers can fly from London Stansted to Newquay, only 35 minutes from Flushing.The cosmopolitan population is created by the many old local families who have been joined more recently by members of the yachting fraternity and newcomers from all over the world. Originally known as Nankersey, it was built in 17th century by the Dutch, who came to build piers and sea walls. It’s one of the largest natural harbours in the world, with a mouth a mile wide, and the working dockyard provides for ocean-going ships as well as many smaller marinas.
Not so well-known, though, is the village of Flushing, lying on the opposite bank of the Fal Estuary. Falmouth is a Cornish town familiar to most people, famous for its sailing connections and glorious countryside surroundings, as well as being the place where Ellen MacArthur landed after completing her record-breaking solo sailing trip.