Cumberland Council: Homeowners react to higher Council Tax

Last week members of the council approved a proposed budget for the coming financial year which included a 100 percent increase for those with homes which are not their main residence.

Judith Johnstone, who owns a second home in Keswick and her main property is in Bassenthwaite, was angered by the decision to approve the move and said second homeowners already paid Council Tax on their properties and it resulting in them having to pay what is in effect a 200 per cent bill.

She added: “To penalise those who have lawfully bought their properties, often from locals who made a healthy profit from selling on their council houses, is nothing short of extortion.

“It panders to petty jealousy and ignorance. What about second homeowners who have a strong affiliation to the area, and have had for decades?

“The real problem for locals is the low wage economy in many areas, plus seasonal jobs, which prevent locals from ever earning enough to attract a mortgage lender, and on top of this the lack of affordable housing to replace the council properties sold off under the Right to Buy scheme.”

Mrs Johnstone said she raised her objections at the time of the council’s consultation but felt that she was powerless to make any change.

She said the original act that enabled councils to introduce the premium did not make it mandatory and it did not make allowances for individual circumstances. She added: “It also assumed a second home was only used occasionally.

“Regardless of this, or the presumption that second homeowners don’t add anything to the community, it was evident Cumberland Council had already made up its mind to introduce the extra premium to raise more money under the guise of supposedly helping to solve the problem of the lack of affordable homes for locals.

“Press reports at the time certainly gave that impression. No one has questioned how this was supposed to work or the morality of penalising those who had legally bought the property in good faith.

“Out came the old chestnut about second homers damaging the intake of local schools. The same argument could be used against anyone moving into the area who doesn’t have school-aged children. It was not so long ago this accusation was levelled at retirees in South Lakeland.”

Mrs Johnstone, who is Cumbrian by birth and has lived in various locations over the years, has owned the Keswick home since 1977, to meet different family circumstances, and divides her time between the two on a weekly basis to keep in touch with friends and her wider social network.

She said she has strong Cumbrian connections and added: “Our son was educated at Keswick School, my mother lived in various homes for the elderly in the town for the last 20 years of her life and my husband is buried at Crosthwaite Church.

“I also actively support several community-based organisations, including Keswick Community Housing Trust so I very much regard myself as a local.”

She said she would continue to pay her existing 100 per cent Council Tax but currently has no intention of paying the additional premium the council was trying to “extort” from her.

John Woodmass, from South Shields in the north-east of England, and family bought their property in Blennerhasset around six years ago because they had always wanted a property in that area.

He said he was unaware of the proposed hike in Council Tax and added: “The first I found out about it was when you phoned.

“It’s nice to be told about these things so I guess the next thing I’m going to hear is having a bill from the council through the letterbox.

“We wanted a base in Cumbria basically, that was the reason, we had a caravan but a house seemed like a step up from the caravan I suppose and it was.

“A caravan is basically like a car with no engine. You buy it, it depreciates and you eventually sell it and you don’t get very much back from it. A house is a house, isn’t it?”

He said he could understand what the council intended with the increase on second homes which he felt was a particular problem in the Lake District National Park but he did not think it was such a problem outside of that area.

One of the common perceptions of second homeowners was that they did not contribute to the local economy but Mr Woodmass said this was not the case when they stayed in the area.

He said: “No, definitely not, because when we go we travel light literally chuck things in a bag and when we get there, we’ll also local cafes, the pub, etc. We use the supermarkets and we buy our gear when we get there without a doubt.”

And he said he was not sure if the extra cost would ultimately lead to them selling the property and he added: “We shall have to see where they’re coming from and what their intention is but I think it’s a bit of a blanket approach without looking at where they’re problem areas actually are.”

A council spokesman confirmed that the 200 per cent would apply to second homeowners except where a particular exemption applied.

During the council consultation ahead of last year’s budget the responses the question over whether to apply the increase were 70.7 per cent were yes, 23.8 per cent were no and 5.6 said they did not know – out of a total of 518 responses – and it was decided it would be imposed from April this year to ensure notice of 12 months was given.

Councillor Barbara Cannon (St Michaels, Labour), the executive member with responsibility for finance and assets, said: “The 3000 second homes in the Cumberland area put an extra pressure on housing.

“The council is therefore also introducing a 100 per cent Council Tax premium on second homes to double their bill from April 1, 2025.

“This will provide an estimated additional £4 million per year to help fund services and help us tackle the affordable housing crisis.”