RESIDENTS who live in a village paradise fear they could end up homeless after it was SOLD to a billionaire family for £16million.
Seventy one people from Trevalga, a Cornish village near the famous tourist attraction Tintagel and lying within the Duchy of Cornwall, are worried their quiet way of life could be ruined.
The hamlet has been acquired by the William Pears Group, a family-led private equity investment business, for the eight-figure sum.
The sale of the 1,199-acre village sparked controversy last summer when it went on the market for the second time in a decade.
Boxing legend Barry Hearn even considered buying the ancient hamlet.
Dubbed "The Battle for Trevalga", tenants in the tiny village voiced fears about what the sale would mean for their rented homes.
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They protested that the sale contravenes Gerald Curgenven's original intent to preserve the historic village and landscape, and to continue to provide affordable housing for local families.
Many of the homes are let on assured short-hold tenancies, with some families having lived in the hamlet for generations.
This week, Savills released a statement and confirmed the village had been sold to William Pears.
The Williams Pears website reads: "Pears Partnership Capital acts as an advisor to the Pears family in originating, arranging and overseeing direct private equity investments in operating businesses.
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"The Pears family have been investing in residential and commercial property since 1952 when the William Pears Group was founded by Bernard Pears and his son, Clive."
Today the business is run by Clive's three sons, Sir Trevor, Mark and David Pears who are listed as company directors of Castle Lane Securities Ltd.
"The family take a long-term approach to financing which has evolved over time to ensure that they act to preserve the capital of the business," the website adds.
Prior to the sale, Trevalga was looked after by the Gerald Curgenven Will Trust.
In 1959 Gerald Curgenven left Trevalga to his former school, Marlborough College, in Wiltshire, where Kate Middleton and sister Pippa were educated.
The school receives the rental income, with the charitable trust overseeing the estate.
Cornwall councillor for the Boscastle and Camelford area, Barry Jordan, said people want to know more details about the new owner's plans for Trevalga.
"The residents need security of tenure, they need to know they're going to be safe in their properties and not be kicked out in 12 months' time.
"The most important thing to me is that they’re looked after, they’ve been here a long time and families before them, it’s been going on for years."
Peter Pracownik, a tenant for 28 years, lives in the village's cliff-top manor house.
He told ITV News: "Their deal is to make sure everybody remains where they've always remained and all the repairs will be done.
"It will take a while because there's a lot of repairs – my house alone, £50,000 won't put it right, because it's so bad, but they're working on that as well for me."
Sales particulars for the "Manor of Trevalga" describe it as including six let farms, 17 further houses and cottages, two of which are vacant, and a range of miscellaneous property including barns "with planning potential".
In June 2022, the Trustees of The Gerald Curgenven Will Trust wrote to all the tenants of the Manor of Trevalga to tell them they were selling the estate.
Following concerns raised by tenants over the validity of the sale, the Charity Commission was called in.
In September 2022, it concluded that trustees had acted in compliance with their legal duties.
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At that time, trustees for the Gerald Curgenven Will Trust said the estate was no longer financially viable, and that it did not have the funds to improve the many period properties let out to residents.
The village dates from the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.
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