OFFICIAL SECOND HOME NUMBERS "TIP OF THE ICEBERG" say Lib Dem MPs (Julia Goldsworthy)

Julia Goldsworthy <info@juliagoldsworthy.org>

OFFICIAL SECOND HOME NUMBERS "TIP OF THE ICEBERG" say Lib Dem MPs

May 1, 2009 3:00 PM

The number of properties receiving a second home council tax discount has risen to nearly 14,000 in Cornwall, official figures have revealed.

But Cornwall's Lib Dem MPs believe these official figures reveal only the "tip of the iceberg." They have written to HMRC and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears asking that information is also collected and published on how many properties are registered as holiday homes available to let.

In answer to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Julia Goldsworthy, the government revealed that there were 13,603 second homes recorded in Cornwall last year. These latest figures show a rise from 9,233 in 2000 - an increase of almost 50 per cent.

The actual total is thought to be far higher as these official statistics do not include holiday homes which are available to let - these come under the business rates system collected by HMRC and are not available publicly.

Cornish Liberal Democrats are calling for more information to be collected, to reveal a clearer picture of how the growth of second homes and holiday lets have impacted on communities across Cornwall.

Under Liberal Democrat control, Cornwall County Council raised the amount of council tax that second home owners were required to pay - and allocated the additional resources raised to the development of second homes. They are also pledging to ensure that 1200 affordable homes are earmarked for local families each and every year, in their manifesto for June's local elections. Under the previous Conservative government, second home owners were entitled to a 50% council tax discount.

Commenting, Falmouth and Camborne MP Julia Goldsworthy said:

"Official figures on second home ownership in Cornwall show a worrying trend, but reveal only the tip of the iceberg. For some villages, the number of properties that stand empty for much of the year because they are second homes or holiday lets is threatening the future viability of the community.

"The government needs to give local authorities the freedoms they need to take action in the small number of places that are most seriously affected. They could start by taking an important first step in this process, by ensuring that more information is collected on the number of holiday lets registered as small businesses."

Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall, added:

"The least the Government can do for people struggling to get a home is to show some honesty about how many local homes are being left empty for the weekdays and winters.

"The official figures try to paint a rosy picture of what is actually a shameful situation that neither the Government nor their Conservative counterparts are prepared to do anything about. Second homes are the elephant in the room of Britain's housing policy. The Government knows perfectly well the problems that large numbers of empty houses cause for our villages, the Tories know it too but both want to look the other way and talk about other things.

"Ministers should publish the full figures now, and tell us what they are going to do to stop more and more rural communities becoming part of 'ghost town Britain'".