VILLAGE PEOPLE
This beautiful Swiss village is paying people £53,000 to move there
Fed-up locals petitioned the mayor of Albinen to attract new families after the village school closed because only seven children live there
A PICTURESQUE Swiss village is offering a £53,000 cash-in-hand payment for each family that moves there.
The incentive is designed to reverse a rapid population plunge in the mountain community of Albinen, in the scenic canton of Valais.
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Half of the town's 240 fed-up locals petitioned the council for a housing subsidy after the village school shut - as only seven children live there.
The council will soon vote on the motion, which offers each new adult 25,000 Swiss Francs (£18,900) to move there, with an additional 10,000 (£7,600) per child.
The plan means a family of four could be looking at a lump sum of £53,188 - if they meet the criteria.
Payouts will only be made to families willing to spend over £151,925 buying a house, and anyone who moves away after less than ten years will be forced to hand back the cash.
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New arrivals must be 45 or under to qualify for the payment and will be expected to learn German.
The picturesque town is dotted by traditional timber-clad farmhouses, while the narrow cobbled streets are broken up by a pristine white church and the village's only shop.
Mayor Beat Jost said: "Second homes and large residential complexes of investor groups are out of the question.
"Anyone who moves away again ten years after the start of construction or after buying the house must repay the money.
"In a best-case scenario, even the village school will reopen," he added.
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Residents in nearby Inden devised a similar measure to attract families by granting discounts in the village shop, while the town of Safien hands out free public transport passes for young people.
The move comes just weeks after the 13 residents left in Switzerland's smallest mountain village decided to turn it into a giant hotel to save it from extinction.
Elderly residents banded together to convert tiny Corrippo into a tourist complex called "Albergo Corippo" after hearing that a family of three was planning to relocate.
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