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Assetsure News 21st September 2007
The
Impact of
Second Homes and UK Holiday Homes on Communities
The growth in the amount
of disposable income over the last 20 years, achieved by homeowners in
the UK has been considerable. As a result many people have purchased
second homes to act as a
uk holiday homes both here in Britain
and in other European popular destinations like Spain and France and
Portugal. Britain has fantastic countryside and traditional seaside
resorts and scenery that have attracted hundreds of thousands of a
people to purchase second properties using the equity they have
amassed in their own homes and their disposable income, as the economy
has strengthened during the last 10 to 20 years. This has led to house
price growth... The amount of land available for new building holiday
properties is under immense pressure and at the same time the number
of traditional cottages is finite.
Here in the UK, the continued rise in property prices has had some
negative effect on local villages and communities popular holiday
destinations such as Devon, Cornwall, the Lake District and the New
Forest. Residents of these largely rural communities (which rely
heavily on tourism from holiday makers) are finding it increasingly
difficult to get onto the property ladder because of huge demand for
holiday homes pushing up the overall price of property out of their
reach. In some extreme areas this has created resentment and
bitterness as locals cannot afford to buy property in their own
village and they have been indirectly forced out of their own area to
look for cheaper property elsewhere.
The problem is widely recognised among local communities, councils and
housing authorities. Some local councils have actively sought to
intervene to stop holiday home usage. For instance, they have sought
to restrict the usage of the property in its
local planning guidelines for people that have not lived in
the area for a fixed time as well as influence local planning
guidelines. Recent proposals by new forest district council to
increase the level of council tax above the standard 90 per cent rate
for second homes left
unoccupied, is currently being
considered. The government has also signalled that it may change the
law to give councils more flexibility to adjust its own council tax
rates to reflect the needs to balance the local economy with the
volume of holiday homes in its area. In addition, major new national
housing reform is being introduced to bring three million new
affordable homes to the UK by 2020, particularly for key workers and
first time buyers.
The wider economic impacts on local people migrating from their local
town has knock on effects for the economy. Without affordable
accommodation key workers have a to migrate away from the local area.
Businesses and local services are also on the decline us local people
who run these small businesses also cannot afford can to purchase
property. The huge decline in some villages in South Wales is a
notable example where areas have been left unoccupied as holiday
homeowners have left them for the winter. The fact they are left empty
for most of the year means spoilt the traditional community feeling
and spirit between the old villages that used to rely on coal and
industry with strong history and bonds, is now dependant upon tourism
from people who do not live there or only visit a few weeks a year.
Another obvious example is the Lake District where an amazing 50% of
homes in the village of Berwick are empty throughout the year.
The problem looks set to continue as more and more of us seek second
homes to escape the pressure of a modern lifestyle.
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Copyright Assetsure Limited 2007
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