Minister pledges action to stop Yorkshire residents being priced out by tourists
Rachel Maclean, a levelling up minister, said that an “explosion” of holiday lets have brought challenges in “beautiful and popular holiday destinations” such as Scarborough and Whitby.
Writing for The Yorkshire Post, she said that despite the economic benefits that have come alongside the properties this has led to the “erosion of community spirit” as holiday hotspots switch between summer tourist traps and winter ghost towns.
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Hide AdShe also highlighted that “anti-social behaviour from late night parties” was keeping families awake at night due to tourists renting properties such as those available through companies like AirBnB.
“The impact on locals, who have grown up there, lived and worked there their whole lives, is severe,” said Ms Maclean.
“They suddenly find themselves priced out of the market. Young people struggle to get their foot on the housing ladder or to rent somewhere affordable that hasn’t been turned into a short-term let.”
She said that she was “struck” at how the number of private rented homes had fallen “drastically” in Scarborough, while the number of holiday lets has surged according to research by the council.
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Hide AdIt comes as the Government announced proposals to introduce planning permission if someone would like to start using their home as a short-term let.
“People need to afford to live in tourist hot spots to do the jobs the industry needs to thrive,” said Ms Maclean.
“I don’t think every council will need to use these powers, but in our tourist heartlands and in places across Yorkshire, we want to give local communities the power to tackle issues that affect them.”
It comes as ministers faced cross-party calls to enact reforms to the leasehold system of home ownership.
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Hide AdSenior Conservatives pressed the Government to fix the problems of leasehold as Labour urged Cabinet minister Michael Gove to keep his promise on leasehold reform during an Opposition Day Commons debate yesterday.
Father of the House and Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) asked: “The key issue is how soon life can be made better for those who deserve a better life in the homes of their own, and how soon those who are screwing them get unscrewed?”
While Conservative former minister Wendy Morton welcomed progress made by the Government on leasehold reform, she said there is a need to “speed this up” to help “remove uncertainty”.
Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy branded the situation “a bit of a mess”.
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Hide AdThe Labour frontbencher asked: “Will the minister give us a cast-iron guarantee that the Bill they have promised will bring to an end the sale of new private leasehold houses at the point the Bill comes into force, ensure those provisions are applied retrospectively to December 2017 – a promise that has been made repeatedly by this Government – and bring in a workable system to replace private leasehold flats with commonhold?”
Communities minster Lee Rowley told MPs the Government “are committing to reform”, adding “it will happen in the remainder of this Parliament”.
He said: “We have committed to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their lease or to buy their freehold.”