Time for action on Whitby second homes and Airbnb issue - Andrew Vine

Passing through Staithes and Runswick Bay, there was hardly a soul to be seen.

Nobody out and about and no sign of life in the houses, many with their curtains closed on a bright afternoon.

This is not because the adults were all out at work and the children at school.

It’s because the populations of these villages have shrunk to a fraction of what they once were as second-home ownership has hollowed them out until they are all but empty of people outside weekends and the school holidays.

It is sad and depressing to see them like this, but they are far from the only examples on our coastline. A little farther south, in Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, there are streets which stand silent and empty for long stretches of the year.

Inexorably, the character of these places is being worn away by the march of second homes. People born there are squeezed out by visitors with deeper pockets who have little stake in the community and only the most transient connections to their history and heritage.

The people of Whitby recognised this when they voted so overwhelmingly to ban further second-home ownership. Though the poll has no legal force, it was an immensely valuable exercise in local democracy in which the town expressed its unease and spoke both eloquently and admirably of the importance of true community spirit.

Our coast is not alone in having that spirit undermined by those who see communities not as places to belong, but only as boltholes from busy working weeks in Leeds or Sheffield.

In the North Yorkshire Moors and the Dales, market towns are being drained of young families who should be the lifeblood of their futures because they cannot afford properties that are being snapped up at inflated prices as second homes.

And in York, MP Rachael Maskell is pressing for the licensing of Airbnb properties because so many have become noisy party venues spoiling the lives of nearby residents.

Thankfully, in Yorkshire we haven’t yet reached the crisis point of Cornwall where there are NHS staff living in caravans because so few properties remain available to rent or buy due to Airbnb lets, but it is surely only a matter of time before something similar starts happening.

The people of Whitby and all the other places so uneasy about the hollowing-out of their communities deserve to get their wish, for the sake of all the people trying to get a foot on the property ladder in places they love and belong, and also for the sake of the future.

Schools, community centres and shops face closure if permanent populations are gradually excluded and villages with once-distinctive identities and traditions are effectively reduced to nothing more than holiday camps.

Turning the tide against this less-than-benign invasion won’t be easy, but Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove’s attempts to make a start ought to be applauded by anybody worried about what is happening to so many places in Yorkshire and beyond.

His proposals to give elected mayors powers to ban owners of second homes from letting them on sites such as Airbnb are overdue. They are driving legitimate bed and breakfasts and hotels, which pay business rates and are part of their local communities, out of business.

Given the strength of feeling about this on the coast, the proposed new mayor for York and North Yorkshire would be likely to find this at the top of their agenda.

But Mr Gove should go farther. Local authorities will soon have the power to double council tax on unoccupied properties, but in Wales, the devolved administration plans to quadruple it, a move worth adopting nationwide if the country is serious about safeguarding communities and giving young people a chance of having a place of their own.

Changes to the planning laws are also needed, to make it far less attractive for Airbnb owners to turn a fast – and largely tax-free – few quid out of letting their second homes.

They are getting away with running businesses that are not subject to any regulation. Instead, they should be required to gain planning permission for a change of use, which would also make it easier for tax authorities to track down earnings from them.

This is about saving some of the most attractive places in Yorkshire from becoming ghost towns and villages, giving them a chance to remain what they should be – strong communities with a sense of identity, where people can build lives and bring up families.