Plea to keep holiday home tax windfalls local
Solstock Residents in a tourism hotspot have called for income from additional council tax on second homes to be ring-fenced for their areas.
Northumberland County Council has announced it will double the council tax charge for second homes from 1 April 2025.
A new petition wants the extra cash to be spent on coastal villages like Beadnell, Seahouses and Bamburgh and not disappear into central funds.
Petition organiser Jennifer Hall said: "It could help us with the many challenges we face."
"In particular our community desperately needs more affordable housing," she added.
Jennifer Hall There is currently no accurate record of how many properties in England are second homes or holiday lets, but in 2018 Northumberland County Council produced a report, which calculated that only one third of homes in Beadnell had permanent residents.
Mrs Hall, whose family have lived in the village since the 1700s, says that means "families can't afford to live here."
"This money could be used for public services and local facilities, including transport, which would help keep young people in the area," she said.
Rachel Douglas, who runs a company maintaining holiday homes in Seahouses, also backs the petition.
She said: "Tourism, holiday homes and second homes are an essential part of Northumberland's economy but, despite hundreds of houses being built, we have seen populations in some of our villages halve in the past 30 years.
"This is an opportunity for Northumberland County Council to use this additional, unexpected income and set a positive example to other parts of the country."
The Conservative-led council said it would not be appropriate to comment before the petition had been considered.
Follow BBC North East on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].