Pressure is mounting for changes to be made to planning laws in an attempt to ease the housing crisis that is spreading through Porthleven.

Marilyn Ferris, chairman of Kerrier district council, has sent a letter to Housing Minister Yvette Cooper pressing for new laws that would allow planning authorities to cap or restrict the number of second homes and holiday lets in a community.

In her letter, Mrs Ferris wrote: "The people of Kerrier are suffering a terrible housing crisis. Average house prices in Kerrier are £185,000, while average wages for the district in 2005 were only £16,368.

"Potential first-time buyers on local wages have no chance to own their own homes, social rented accommodation is in short supply and many are stuck in costly private rented accommodation while high housing-need families, often with very young children, are left stranded and homeless on waiting lists."

She continued that house price inflation was exacerbated by buyers from outside Cornwall, who have pushed up house prices to "intolerable levels".

"This is particularly acute in coastal areas where the level of second homes has also had a damaging effect on community life," she wrote.

As an example, she used a recent survey carried out in Porthleven, which found that some of the areas of the town had up to 76 per cent of its properties as second homes.

"As members of Kerrier district council, and on behalf of local residents, we implore government to devise new planning policies or legislate to better meet the needs of local people and deliver increased amounts of affordable housing. In particular, we call on government to consider allowing local planning authorities to seek a planning application for change of use if it is proposed that a home might be used as a holiday home, and to cap or restrict the numbers of second homes in our towns and villages," she concluded.

A copy of the letter has been sent to MP Andrew George.

The letter follows a public meeting in the port that was called by the Porthleven Action Group last August and which was attended by Mr George.

After the meeting, Kerrier councillor Jane Acton, who also attended, raised the matter with Kerrier's quality living environment committee in September, before recommending to the main council in November that a letter be sent to Whitehall setting out these proposed changes in law. This was formally agreed by the council in December and the letter has now been sent.

Rod Stephens, spokesperson for the Porthleven Action Group (PAG), said: "As a pressure group PAG has achieved more than I had ever hoped when it was set up in the spring of 2006. It really does show that change can be brought about by people power."

Councillor Acton added: "It was clear from the meeting what the residents of Porthleven required to protect their community and as their Kerrier representative I had to take that requirement forward to the district council. My fellow councillors agreed with my sentiments, which enabled us to draft a legislation requirement letter to send to Whitehall."