North Yorkshire could make second home owners pay double council tax

More than 8,000 properties in North Yorkshire are designated as second homes, and earlier this year Whitby residents voted to ban new holiday homes after an influx of tourists.

There has been a surge in second home ownership following the pandemic, with up to 70 per cent of properties in villages such as Askrigg, in Wensleydale, being holiday lets.

On Thursday, Neil Heseltine, the chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, who owns a cottage holiday let, told The Telegraph that the proportion of second homes in the park had risen to between 20 and 25 per cent.

“We think they have an impact on the community both economically and socially, so the message that we would really like to get out there is please come and live in your second homes,” he added.

“We haven’t got anything against second home owners, but if there’s something that can be done we will watch with interest and see if we can support that.”

Councillor Gareth Dadd, the deputy leader of North Yorkshire County Council, told The Telegraph: “A lack of affordable housing is something that we are keen to address, and that is Why the proposals for a premium on council tax bills for second homes have been drawn up.

“The county is one of the most desirable places to live in the country, and as such there is an intense demand for housing.”

Any decision is likely to be made next year, when the council merges with seven district authorities to form a new North Yorkshire Council.

“A potential devolution deal would provide far greater autonomy for us to make key decisions on a local level, with far more spending powers to tackle long-running issues such as a lack of affordable housing,” said Mr Dadd.

‘There’s so many loopholes’

Jill McMullen, a Richmondshire district councillor, said: “It’s a nonsense and ridiculous. For me, it’s something that’s been written on the back of a fag packet. There’s so many loopholes, it’s so badly thought out.”

Robert Flather, 64, company director, who owns a second home in the Dales, told The Telegraph: “It’s just not thought through. We are being tarred with the same brush. It’s a completely different picture in different parts of North Yorkshire. 

“A lot of second homes will become holiday lets because if we were to put our home on the market today there are no families that want to live there. There’s no queue of people wanting to buy them – there would be no benefit of getting rid of people that are an integral part of the community.”