Cornwall: Resident calls for tougher measures on holiday homes

Summer is all around as another heatwave looks set to sweep over Britain – with temperatures set to soar above 30C in some areas.

The pandemic ushered in a newfound appreciation for staycations, and Brits continue to flock to domestic coastal resorts in droves. Some 270 million visits a year are made to the seaside in England alone.

Around 70,000 second addresses were found to be used as holiday homes in Britain, according to new statistics released as part of Census 2021, visited by over 200,000 people. 

Just under half (48.5 percent) of all those using a second address as a holiday home travelled within the UK – up from 42.3 percent a decade ago.

The data also reveal the areas across England and Wales with the highest density of holiday homes. Check Express.co.uk’s map to see those closest to you.

READ MORE: Locals ‘forced out’ of seaside town after ‘rich outsiders buy all the homes’

The South West was found to have a higher concentration of holiday homes as a share of the total dwelling stock than any other region in Britain.

In Devon’s South Hams district – a popular tourist destination with a long coastline and home to the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – this rate was higher than anywhere else, with 44.1 holiday homes per 1,000. 

This was especially the case in the Salcombe, Marlborough and Thurlestone area, where numbers soar to 171.9 per 1,000.

Testament to its strong appeal, Salcombe also happens to be the most expensive seaside destination in Britain, where average property prices hit £1.24million last year. 

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South Hams was followed by Gwynedd in North Wales (41 per 1,000 homes), which contains most of Snowdonia National Park, attracting around four million visitors each year.

This was followed by North Norfolk (38.7 per 1,000) and the Isle of Anglesey (32.9 per 1,000).

Critics say holiday homes are aggravating the housing crisis and pushing up prices for would-be residents. As a result, both the UK and Welsh parliaments recently passed laws tightening regulation on second home ownership. 

Last year, Westminster ruled second homeowners must from now on prove holiday lets are rented out for a minimum of 70 days a year to qualify for any Council Tax reductions, and that they are available to rent for at least 140 days.

The Welsh Government has clamped down even harder, requiring they be let for at least half the year and available for nine months. The maximum Council Tax premium applied to second homes in Wales can also now range up to four times the standard rate.

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