The people of Whitby recently voted overwhelmingly in favour of restricting holiday lets and second homes to preserve their community.
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.Whitby recognised this when they voted so overwhelmingly to ban further second-home ownership
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. 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.
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.