Government proposals on short-term holiday lets don’t go far enough in protecting places like Whitby - GP Taylor

Working class people can no longer afford to live in dwellings that were originally built for them as second homeowners snap them up for higher and higher prices. People who have grown up in coastal towns and villages are now finding it impossible to buy in the place they would call home. A small cottage in Whitby is on the market for £475,000 and will probably be sold to some incomer to use as a holiday home.

It is only right then that Whitby residents voted to restrict the sale of new builds to permanent residents and councillors voted to double the council tax on second homes. All house sales on the coast should be restricted to permanent residents.

Yet, this does not go far enough. For quite some time, I have wanted to set up a not-for-profit hedge fund to buy up as many houses as possible in seaside towns and rent them at reasonable and affordable prices to local people.

It would be lovely to see people living all year round in houses that were once only occupied by tourists. Businesses would then have the staff to cater for the needs of the tourists and shops would have the customers they so badly need.

The number of holiday lets in England has risen by 40 per cent in three years, according to the BBC which analysed council figures last year. Increases were particularly notable in areas such as Scarborough. In reality, second home owners do not bring in as much revenue to the county as they would like us to believe. I was glad to hear that the government is going to act on second homes. However, having seen the proposals, they do not go far enough. It is all well and good to say that anyone wanting to let a property on a short term let should have planning permission.

Reading between the lines, it becomes obvious that this is only needed if you are short-term letting for the whole year. Why then consider whether to give owners the flexibility to let out their homes for a set number of nights a year without obtaining planning permission? Currently, the government is thinking of 90 nights per year. This is an obvious way of getting around planning and who is going to police it? People will just lie about how many nights the house has been let for.

Property owners need to be financially encouraged with tax breaks to stop letting for holidays and move their properties into the long-term housing sector. There is a shortage of rental homes for workers and this affects the labour market. Workers should be allowed to live near to their employment.

In Whitby, the pressure on housing is incredible. One internet letting site only had eight properties to let in the town, with a two-bed semi being offered for £875 per month. What working person could afford that? Writing in this paper, Rachel Maclean, a levelling up minister, said that an “explosion” of holiday lets has brought challenges in “beautiful and popular holiday destinations” such as Scarborough and Whitby. She quite rightly said about the locals that, “they suddenly find themselves priced out of the market. Young people struggle to get their foot on the housing ladder or to rent somewhere affordable that hasn’t been turned into a short-term let.”

“Challenges”, doesn’t describe the plight of some locals facing housing problems. Crisis would be a far better word. Yet, in reality, nothing will really get done. Capitalism always triumphs over social need.

What the government is proposing does not go far enough. Each town and village should have a cap on how many short-term letting properties are to be allowed in the area. Any new build property should have a restricted use placed on it for the life of the property.

Councils should invest in buying up houses that become available and then let them long term to local people at a reasonable price. There must be a balance between holiday and long-term accommodation.

It is important that we share the beauty of Yorkshire with those wishing to visit, but it is more important that we look after the indigenous population that have lived here all their lives. This is especially true when the price of a three bed, new build house in Whitby is well over £400,000.

Yorkshire needs tourists, but it also needs good quality homes for those who live and work here.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster who lives in Yorkshire.