New Southwold holiday homes to be restricted

New holiday and second homes are to be restricted in a Suffolk town amid fears their "inexorable spread" could "wipe out the resident population".

About 50% of homes in Southwold have "no usual residents" according to 2011 Office for National Statistics data.

Conservative-led East Suffolk Council has agreed a neighbourhood plan with a "principal resident requirement".

This means all new housing must be occupied as someone's main, or principal home.

The neighbourhood plan, which was passed unanimously at a meeting on Wednesday, highlighted concerns over the sustainability of the town, with businesses worried about the impact of "the lack of full-time residents on their viability".

It stated that "an abundance of tourism during the summer did not make up for the off-season trade", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The plan further said: "With the ability to physically expand Southwold greatly restricted by its near-island nature and the sensitive environment in which it sits, it is important to strike the right balance so that the thriving tourism economy does not undermine the town's viability.

"Without a thriving full time community, Southwold will lose many of the things that make it a place that people want to visit and spend their holidays."

Suffolk County Council forecasts indicated that the 105-place primary school may be undersubscribed by as many as 67 places by June 2024, because of the abundance of second or holiday homes.

Southwold Liberal Democrat councillor, David Beavan, said: "The residence clause is welcome but we have little land left to build on.

"We need more help from planning to control the inexorable spread of holiday homes [which] at this rate will wipe out the resident population in 20 years' time."

The clause within the neighbourhood plan must be considered by planning officers and committees when future applications are lodged to build within the town.

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