'Rising property prices pushed me out of home town' North Yorkshire woman claims
It's come as the county looks to become one of the first in the UK to introduce double council tax for empty second homes
Last updated 14th Nov 2022
A woman from Whitby has said rising property prices pushed her out of her home town, amid worries about North Yorkshire's housing market.
This week, councillors will vote on whether to introduce an 100% premium on second homes from 2024, to try to bring more affordable properties onto the market.
They claim radical action needs to be taken to tackle the issue of affordable housing in North Yorkshire.
Senior councillors have already backed the plan, which is due to be heard by a full council meeting on Wednesday.
"Local people can't afford to buy"
Homeowner Jane Downes said she was forced to move out of her hometown of Whitby because of spiraling property prices.
Ms. Downes said: "I was upset really because, we've had our family tree done and it goes back to the 15th century there"
"Local people can't afford to buy properties in Whitby because they're either holiday homes or they're outbid on them."
Announcing the vote in September, council leader Carl Les said: “There is no simple solution to the issue of affordable housing, second homes and the impact they have on housing for local communities.
“But we recognise that bold and decisive action needs to be taken to deal with the affordable housing crisis in North Yorkshire, and that is why the executive has decided to pursue the policy of a council tax premium."
“It may not be popular with everyone, but that is not the key factor in this decision. We need to act to try and ensure more local people have access to housing in their own communities".
The vote is expected to take place on Wednesday (16 November).
North Yorkshire - trailblazing
The new scheme could mean that North Yorkshire is one of the first areas in the country to progress adopting the Government’s new measures, which are ultimately aimed at bringing second homes back into use for local communities.
It is also expected that a decision to introduce the premium will provide a multi-million pound boost to finance key council priorities, including a central aim to use the funding to help introduce more housing in areas particularly affected by the affordability crisis.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said decisive and radical action had to be taken to tackle the long-running issue of second home ownership in the county.
North Yorkshire has the highest number of second homes in the region, and concerns have been voiced that the trend is undermining the availability of housing for local communities as well as inflating property prices.
The independent North Yorkshire Rural Commission, which was established by the county council in the autumn of 2019 to look into a host of issues affecting countryside communities, highlighted the affordable housing crisis as among the greatest challenges to resolve.
Cllr Les said: “There is no simple solution to the issue of affordable housing, second homes and the impact they have on housing for local communities.
“But we recognise that bold and decisive action needs to be taken to deal with the affordable housing crisis in North Yorkshire, and that is why the executive has decided to pursue the policy of a council tax premium.
“It may not be popular with everyone, but that is not the key factor in this decision. We need to act to try and ensure more local people have access to housing in their own communities, and the premium on council tax bills for second homes will be a significant step towards achieving that.
“Second homes and the impact they can have on the availability of housing has been a long-running problem that has affected communities not just in North Yorkshire but across the country, and this was reinforced by the findings of the independent North Yorkshire Rural Commission.”
Analysis has shown that the introduction of a 100 per cent premium on council tax bills for second homes in North Yorkshire could generate in excess of £14 million a year in additional revenue.
The Scarborough district has the potential to bring in almost half of that figure due to the large number of second homes in coastal towns such as Whitby, Scarborough and Filey.
The research has shown that Richmondshire could generate about £1.8 million through the second homes premium, while the Craven, Harrogate and Ryedale districts could each provide about £1.5 million in extra revenue. Hambleton could provide £1 million and the Selby district a further £260,000.