YP Letters: Lack of jobs, not house prices, keeps young people from Dales

THE leader of the Richmondshire Council, Yvonne Peacock, claims without evidence that second home owners have pushed up house prices in the Yorkshire Dales such that younger people cannot afford to buy property there (The Yorkshire Post, January 26).

She also states that there is “no evidence” that her policy of increasing council tax for second home owners by 500 per cent will create a slump in house prices, even though producing a significant reduction in prices to make houses more affordable must be an unspoken objective.

Any such reduction in house prices would of course apply to all property across the National Park, and not just to second homes.

Many people could find themselves trapped and unable to sell or move because their house is worth less than the mortgage, while those who are relying on their property to fund care, retirement, or perhaps leave to their family could see the value of their property significantly eroded.

Unfortunately all of this may happen without achieving the stated aims of the change which is to attract younger people to the Dales, since younger people follow employment, not house prices. The possible unintended effects of the changes on cafes, pubs and small businesses in the Dales should also be considered.

From: Lindsay Leonard, Swaledale, Richmond.

YVONNE Peacock, the leader of Richmondshire District Council, denied the proposed council tax hike on second homes would lead to a wholesale collapse in house prices in the National Park for permanent residents and second home owners alike.

But isn’t this the whole point of the proposal – to bring down prices and make houses more affordable? Or am I missing something?

From: Dr Alan McDonald, Askrigg.

I ALWAYS understood council tax to be a levy to pay for services. How can it be fair or reasonable to charge people who clearly 
use the services less five 
times as much as others? It wasn’t so long ago that second homes were given a 50 per cent rebate.

To me, this is a lazy approach to solving this problem, which won’t work anyway.

It needs more in-depth, innovative thinking. I know it isn’t an easy problem to solve, but, personally, I always favour a carrot rather than stick approach.