Whitby has become the newest tourist spot to vote to limit the sale of second homes, as residents sounded “a very strong message that enough is enough”.
Families at Yorkshire Fisheries Harbor said they had been removed from the housing market because wealthy people were paying exorbitant prices for holiday holes.
About 28 percent of Whitby’s property is used as a second home, and in a recent construction, 19 of the 20 new homes were sold as holiday properties, according to a local councilor.
In a poll of city residents on Monday, 93% voted to limit the sale of newly built and additional housing to permanent residents.
The poll, which had 24% turnout, was not legally binding, but organizers said they hoped it would influence planning decisions by Whitby City Council and Scarborough City Council.
The result is the latest sign of unrest in Britain’s tourist hotspots as local families struggle to equalize prices paid by those who want a second home by the sea.
In Cornwall, the copper vessels districts of St. Ives, Fowie and Mevagisi voted to limit sales of new buildings to permanent residents. The Welsh government recently raised the maximum level of municipal tax on second homes from 100% to 300% amid fears that places such as Anglesey and Gwynedd, home to the stunning Llŷn Peninsula, are overcrowded with holiday properties.
Whitby Community Network, the organizer of the survey, said it hoped the results would send a clear message that “change is needed.”
A spokesman said: “The results of the survey clearly demonstrate the strength of feelings in the local community … We believe that our elected councilors will take into account and take action.”
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Sandra Turner, who has lived in Whitby since she was a child, said residents wanted to send “a very strong message that it is enough”.
She told the BBC: “Not that we are against tourism, we are not, but we do not want to give up our city. We need to be able to live here, we need to be able to work here, families want their families to stay here and not move, and that’s what is happening. People need to move out of town so they can live and own a home. “
A spokesman for Scarborough’s municipal council said: “The result of the poll is no more and no less than an expression of the views of the parish electorate who voted in the poll, and is not binding on any organization.
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