Petition to 'ring fence' additional council tax from Northumberland's second homes to go to scrutiny committee

A petition to "ring fence" additional council tax collected from second homes and holiday homes in Northumberland will go to an Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Northumberland County Council announced last year it will double the council tax rate on second homes as part of the previous Conservative Government's Levelling Up legislation. Owners of empty homes will also face a 100% premium on their properties, which could rise to 300% for dwellings that have been left unoccupied for ten years or more.

More than 200 people signed a petition calling for this additional council tax on second homes to be used to benefit the communities where second homes are most prevalent. Jennifer Hall, 73, has spent years lobbying MPs and Government and was involved in creating Northumberland's neighbourhood plan, which was adopted in 2022.

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She had hoped that the council would follow the example of the Welsh Government, where the second home premium is at a maximum of four times the local council tax, with extra funding being used to build more affordable and council housing. However, this is not possible due to legislation which dictates that council tax income cannot be utilised to subsidise affordable housing.

A lack of affordable housing in coastal areas popular with tourists such as Beadnell and nearby Bamburgh and Seahouses, has meant young people and families have had to move away from the area, resulting in a smaller pool for businesses to employ from. Fewer than a third of Beadnell's 662 dwellings are permanent residences, and a number of the village's permanent residents are retirees.

Jennifer Hall said: "The councillors were very sympathetic and recognised it as a problem, and something that had been a problem for a while. I take that as a positive, it's the second petition they've had from us in three years in this area.

"But things are getting worse, not any better. Nationally, some other councils appear to be using money to mitigate the impact of so many second and holiday homes in these villages."

Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle is the cabinet member with responsibility for housing. He said: "We genuinely want to examine the opportunities and challenges in more detail and so have referred it to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

"The petition will be kept open while the committee look into the issues in more detail and we get more clarity about what the new government affordable homes targets and associated planning powers will be. We recognise the impact second and holiday homes can have on communities, especially in coastal areas, and we are using a range of approaches to tackle this problem.

"Our Local Plan (adopted in 2022) seeks to make sure that new homes in areas under pressure from second homes and holiday lets are retained for permanent residents. This year we used new Census information to extend the number of areas where these restrictions apply.

"Several Neighbourhood Plans already restrict the occupation of new dwellings, so they can only be occupied as a ‘principal residence.' We are supporting initiatives for community-led affordable local housing in villages and we are working closely with housing developers, housing associations and the North East Combined Authority to deliver new affordable housing across Northumberland."

The council had set itself a target of delivering 1,000 affordable homes over four years, and has delivered 1,802 since 2019. They said that there are another 1,414 affordable homes with planning permission due to be built in communities across the county.

However, more than 14,000 remain on the council's waiting list for social housing. The Northumberland Homefinder website, which lists all available council houses and vacant properties of the county's other housing providers, shows no available properties in Beadnell at the time of writing.