THE FULL council got behind a councillor's call to address the UK housing crisis and a surge in holiday lets which is pushing families out of Keswick.

Allerdale Borough Council met at Rawnsley Hall in Keswick on Wednesday and the meeting was well attended by concerned members of the public.

Keswick residents turned out to support a motion proposed by ward councillor Markus Campbell-Savours, which also received the backing of the full council in a unanimous vote.

Cllr Campbell-Savours proposed that Allerdale Council writes to the UK Government, calling on Westminster to tackle the UK housing crisis, in particular, the surge in holiday lets and second homes - which is reducing the number of properties available for families.

Councillors heard that the rise in holiday lets is driving up house prices and making it difficult for couples and new families to get a foot on the housing ladder.

Steve Harwood was just one of the members of the public who attended Rawnsley Hall to support the proposal.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It's a major issue. Any new property that comes up that doesn't have a condition on it is being snapped up as a holiday let."

Keswick resident Lorraine Taylor spoke at the meeting and asked: "What does the council intend to do to stop this town from dying?"

Speaking to his motion, Cllr Campbell-Savours said: "Despite the restrictions we face in the National Park, we are blessed with organisations like Keswick Community Housing Trust, who have worked tirelessly over recent years to see new homes built for local families."

Cllr Campbell-Savours said: "I have huge admiration for the work they have done but feel sad that the work is being undermined by a huge flaw in the system.

"Currently there are no rules to prevent you or I from buying an open market property, changing it into a home and then a holiday let.

"For every home we have seen built in the town over recent years, we have seen greater numbers of homes taken out of permanent use and changed into holiday lets.

Cross party support was given to Cllr Campbell-Savours' motion to call on Government to take action.

Deputy leader of the Conservative led council, Marion Fitzgerald said: "I'm very keen to support this motion because it is evident there is a shortage of homes that are affordable to local people in parts of Allerdale, particularly within the Lake District National Park boundary.

"The proliferation of second homes and holiday lets doesn't just effect the housing supply available to local people, it also impacts the community and businesses where there are significant numbers of houses in towns and villages standing empty for large parts of the year.

"So I've no wish to make any changes to the wording of the motion I would just like to recommend that if we are going to write to Central Government we add to our communications some acknowledgement of recent from the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities because they are beginning to recognise the problem."

Cllr Fitzgerald listed a series of Government projects to address the housing crisis. Amongst them was a consultation launched by the Ministry of Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, calling for public opinion on the council tax and business rates arrangements for holiday lets."