A SURGE in the number of holiday lets in tourism hotspots is eroding the number of homes available to first-time buyers, Cumbrian public figures have said - and some are calling on Government to take action.
Cumbria is a popular destination with tourists thanks to its picturesque scenery.
Its hospitality industry has benefitted from a boom in ‘staycation’ holidays in the wake of Covid-19.
Many in rural areas are understandably considering how they can contribute to - and benefit from - this thriving leisure and hospitality economy, which has seen a rise in the number of properties converted to holiday lets.
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While public figures acknowledge the importance of holiday lets to the local economy and small businesses in Cumbria’s towns, they fear that the second homes are appearing at such a rate that they are reducing the number of homes available for permanent residence.
The issue has seen calls for action in communities in Eden, Allerdale and South Lakeland.
Mayor of Allerdale and Keswick councillor Allan Daniels said: “I’m one of the board members of Keswick Community Housing Trust, it has an effect on what we do, we can’t build enough houses to counteract the amount that become holiday lets.
“It’s gone from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the last 10 years – housing stock that’s no longer available to local people.
"If you take the whole CA12 area, Braithwaite, all the villages here, they and over the A66 to the villages there, it’s more likely to be 60 per cent than 40 per cent.
The Conservative councillor said: “If you go to those villages now, you’ll notice more and more houses are second homes or holiday lets.”
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Holiday lets do not bring a council tax fee and are subject to small business rate relief which means that the taxation burden is shared out across a smaller number of permanent residents.
Cllr Daniels said: “These affect the amount of revenue that goes to the borough council. The amount of houses paying into the precept has dropped in 10 years by 30 odd houses.
“And I don’t want to be too harsh on holiday lets because they bring business into the town, they bring money into the town.
"A lot of people rely on holiday lets to have a job but there has to be a point where we say: ‘we’ve reached saturation level'.
“The Government has sent out a questionnaire on what we thought the way forward is for holiday lets, be it Air BnBs or second homes, and yes, our response is ‘we need to have some kind of cap.”
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“The Government itself it talking about it so there could be a time that there is a cap.”
The Lake District National Park Authority’s Park Strategy and Vision Committee is set to meet on Wednesday, September 21.
And board members will be asked to approve the authority’s response to Government on its Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill.
'25 per cent of the housing stock in the Lake District has no permanent resident'
The LDNP’s response to Government includes stark evidence on the rise in holiday lets within the national park boundary.
Evidence submitted to Government sets out the 'immense pressure' on the availability of housing stock in the national park, which is driving-up house prices.
The authority said: “While new homes are being built, demand far outstrips supply and the Lake District’s environment is reaching its capacity to accommodate new development.”
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Written evidence informs Government about the severe lack of housing available for families who may be looking to make their first step onto the housing ladder: “25 per cent of the housing stock in the Lake District has no permanent resident.”
Government will hear that 'the population is declining, and the demographic is increasingly unbalanced.'
In its correspondence with Government, the national park authorities have said that the unfettered surge of holiday lets and the subsequent reduction in permanent housing is making communities 'less sustainable and less resilient'.
“Many businesses, especially in the visitor sector, are increasingly constrained by lack of staff, a major cause of which is the unavailability of affordable housing.”
Cumbria County Council member for Keswick Tony Lywood has called for a strong statement on the issue, with the intention of sparking Government action.
“It’s good to see the Lake District National Park playing an active role in trying to restrict the surge of holiday lets which are squeezing the very life out of Lake District communities.
The Labour councillor said: “If we are not careful, our towns and villages will just become tourist dormitories without substance and without a heart.
"This is all to do with proportionality. Holiday lets are great for our economy but in large numbers they will strangle the very community that the tourists come to visit.”
Parliament held a debate on Sharing Economy: Short Term Letting in June. The debate, triggered by Nickie Aiken MP, heard concerns about “the negative impact” of the proliferation of holiday lets in communities across the country.
Both Allerdale Borough Council and Cumbria County Council have written to Government calling for legislation to address the issue.
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Tim Farron, Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale said: “There has been a full blown housing crisis in Cumbria for years but Conservative ministers have stuck their fingers in their ears rather than acted to save our communities from turning into ghost towns.
“This is only made worse by the constant chopping and changing of housing ministers in the last few years which really has stunted any progress that we could have made on this burning issue.
“I have written to the new Levelling Up and Housing Secretary Simon Clarke to ask him to meet with me to discuss an urgent strategy to stop this catastrophe.”
When asked what action it has taken, The Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities said that it has “closed the tax loophole on second homes.”
From April 2023, people will have to prove that their holiday let is rented out for at least 70 days per year to access small business rates relief. The measure was introduced during Michael Gove’s tenure as Levelling-Up Secretary.
Government also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill includes new powers for authorities, allowing them to apply a council tax premium on second homes.
The First Homes Scheme was introduced last year, making properties available to local people and key workers.
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