In the picturesque seaside village of Hope Cove, second home ownership is running at an alarming 80%. 🏠 thetimes.co.uk/article/the-de…
The ageing residents who remain in the south Devon parish fear that the march of the holiday home is increasing. “The place is like a graveyard [out of holiday season],” said retiree Tom Windle, who moved to the parish in 2009.
In winter the dark streets are often only punctuated by lights in the windows of every third or fourth house in a row.
Windle, who at 70 describes himself as “one of the younger ones”, said: “There has been no attempt to bring in young families or anything that is affordable. It has always been a question of ‘let’s knock down and build holiday homes’.”
Meanwhile, locals in some of Britain’s most popular holiday destinations have been left homeless by soaring property prices and the staycation boom as landlords evict tenants to put the house on Airbnb. thetimes.co.uk/article/tory-a…
“There are just 19 properties you can rent long-term in the whole of South Hams on Rightmove, yet there are 300 advertised on Airbnb in Salcombe,” said Anthony Mangnall, the Conservative MP for Totnes.
“Yet we have hospital staff who can’t find anywhere to live, RNLI [Royal National Lifeboat Institution] crew that can’t live in the town they serve. This is starting to become dangerous.” Read more: thetimes.co.uk/article/tory-a…
@thetimes @willshome It's time there was a national initiative to protect key workers, build more council houses and to cease the exploitation of the weakest and poorest in the search for profits! @AnthonyMangnal1