The number of second homes for sale in a Welsh county has trebled since council tax increased by 200%. There were 135 Pembrokeshire second homes on the market in July, compared to 38 the previous year, latest figures indicate.
An estate agent said houses were going on to the market at the highest rate this century, and it was damaging the tourism industry. However, campaigners pointed to the seaside town of Newport, where 30% of properties are second homes, and called for a legal act to give locals the right to buy.
.New rules were introduced by the Welsh government with the aim of making it easier for people to afford homes in the area where they grew up. To help achieve this, powers were given to local authorities to charge a premium of up to 300% on top of the normal council tax rate for those who own a second home in Wales.
It has become a thorny issue, especially in coastal areas and beauty spots along the west coast. Cyngor Gwynedd has long been accused of “playing Russian roulette” by holiday home owners and tourism boards after it imposed a 250% premium on council tax for these properties.
Source: BBC
In other news – Plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton axed
Plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been scrapped because they do not represent value for money, the Home Office has said. Opening the site from the autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122m by the end of its use in 2027, it added.
The site, which was home to the Dambusters and Red Arrows, had been earmarked by the previous government to accommodate migrants. Read more
