We were becoming strangers in our own village: Furious Norfolk seaside residents blast ‘rude’ outsiders ‘destroying’ the local community after voting to BAN second homes amid rebellion against wealthy townies
Residents in the latest coastal location to vote for a ban on second homes today defended their actions, telling MailOnline they were becoming strangers in their own villages.
Frustrated locals in Blakeney complained they were being swamped by ‘rude’ outsiders during the peak season and weekends, while at other times large numbers of homes were left empty and dark.
The unsustainable influx of wealthy townies to the Norfolk village was ‘destroying’ the sense of community, they warned – even if they brought money to the area.
Meanwhile, second home owners insisted their presence benefited the local economy – but didn’t want to be named because the issue is so contentious.
Mother-of-three Leanne Welch, 44, who works at the King’s Arms pub, said the only reason she had been able to stay in the village was because she had been given social housing.
Mother-of-three Leanne Welch, 44, who works at the King’s Arms pub, said the only reason she had been able to stay in the village was because she had been given social housing
Left, Bruno High, 76, who lives in neighbouring Cley-next-the-Sea, was shopping at a convenience store in Blakeney. Right, Carolyne Shepherd, 64, who was having a drink in the pub and whose family have been in the area for ‘generations’, also described how she had to live in a council house
Frustrated locals in Blakeney complained they were being swamped by ‘rude’ outsiders during the peak season and weekends, while at other times large numbers of homes were left empty and dark
READ MORE: Now another picturesque Norfolk village bans people from buying holiday homes in their tightknit community – as seaside towns across Britain plan ‘draconian’ new rules to prevent their towns being swamped with outsiders
‘I noticed things start to change when I had the children. I grew up here and I never knew it to be a touristy place before then,’ she told MailOnline.
‘Before, you could walk around and see 100 people you knew. Now, you’d walk around and see 1,000 people and you’d know none of them.’
Carolyne Shepherd, 64, who was having a drink in the pub and whose family have been in the area for ‘generations’, also described how she had to live in a council house.
‘There’s a lot of second homes. They have destroyed the village,’ she said.
‘The second home-owners were buying properties and turning them into three and four properties.
‘I go up the church tower and see the devastation. They [second home owners] have destroyed a lot of historic things.’
Bruno High, 76, who lives in neighbouring Cley-next-the-Sea, was shopping at a convenience store in Blakeney.
‘We can afford nothing. They [second home-owners] are just building houses and they’re rude,’ he said.
‘You wouldn’t know half of them. They do not want to speak with you. They just walk past you in the shop. I come here most days and they just brush past me.
‘If you walk into a pub at Christmas, they’re the ones making all the bloody noise because they’re the ones with the money.’
Local resident Weez Leonard, who has also hit out at the second home owners
The unsustainable influx of wealthy townies to the Norfolk village was ‘destroying’ the sense of community, they warned – even if they brought money to the area
Some 44 per cent of the 706 properties in Blakeney are now used for leisure purposes, while house prices have soared by almost 50 per cent since 2017. The average house price has reached £750,000
READ MORE: ‘Chelsea on Sea’ votes to ban wealthy Londoners from buying holiday homes to avoid facing TRIPLE council tax – but local firms say they need tourists to survive
He played down claims wealthy outsiders brought a vital injection of money into coastal areas, saying: ‘Do they hell. When one lot leave you see the Waitrose vans come around for the second lot.’
Some 44 per cent of the 706 properties in Blakeney are now used for leisure purposes, while house prices have soared by almost 50 per cent since 2017. The average house price has reached £750,000.
Residents in the village – which lies within the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – supported the crackdown on second homes and holiday lets by an astonishing nine to one in a referendum, it emerged this week.
It means any newbuild properties can only be sold to someone who will use it as their primary residence, while existing homes cannot be converted for visitors unless developers can show there will be no adverse impact on the community, such as noise or problems parking.
But the prohibition lifts the lid on a growing ‘them and us’ phenomenon that threatens the harmony of dozens of idyllic locations in Norfolk and other attractive locations around the country.
A retired company director who has owned a second home in Blakeney for five years, said: ‘There’s a polarised view in the village.
‘The young people have left because of the influx of second home-owners, which is pretty high here. You only have to walk around in the dark to see that significant [numbers of] houses have no lights on.
‘The other view is that second home-owners bring money to the village. When it’s in season, they bring tourists. A lot of the business here is in hospitality.
‘The money along this entire coast is from places with massive equity in north Oxford, London, Cambridge. All the places where property is bonkers has money from places like that.’
Residents in the village – which lies within the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – supported the crackdown on second homes and holiday lets by an astonishing nine to one in a referendum, it emerged this week
Any newbuild properties can only be sold to someone who will use it as their primary residence
A holiday let entrepreneur, who didn’t want to be identified because of the strength of feeling, revealed he had five properties but described the crackdown – which will be enforced under the Neighbourhood Plan which must be taken into account by the district council for any planning applications – as ‘quite odd’ in his case
READ MORE: How homes in Yorkshire’s most northern village are ‘going to ruin’ as second home-owners snap up properties but ‘never ever come and leave them empty for most of the year’
A holiday let entrepreneur, who didn’t want to be identified because of the strength of feeling, revealed he had five properties but described the crackdown – which will be enforced under the Neighbourhood Plan which must be taken into account by the district council for any planning applications – as ‘quite odd’ in his case.
‘You have second homes which are empty nearly the entire year and are owned by someone who uses them for two or three weeks a year,’ he said.
‘Then there’s our kind of second home, which is a holiday home and let all-year round and brings in money.
‘The people who come here spend money in the deli and go to the Spar shop. They spend a whole lot more money than the locals.
‘The amenities wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the tourists. We employ gardeners, cleaners and maintenance people, and painters and decorators. You should see the number of vans around the corner. There are so many tradesmen here.
‘Young people have jobs because of the second home-owners. We bring jobs.’
Other Norfolk holiday hotspots to impose restrictions include Burnham Market, Sedgeford, Heacham, Snettisham and Holme-next-the-Sea.
Similar fightbacks have been launched around the UK in locations such as St Ives in Cornwall, Salcombe in Devon, Swanage in Dorset and Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
Anne Davis, 62, who has lived in Heacham for 24 years, complained house prices were now ‘ridiculous’.
‘Heacham is now part of that Norfolk coast [where prices are unaffordable for most],’ the nurse said.
‘There’s a lot of business for tilers and builders and they’re happy because the people with money are getting a lot of work done on their homes but the house prices are ridiculous.
‘The children cannot afford to stay in the same village as their parents. We need the second home-owners’ business but we want ownership of the homes to be kept by the village.’
Other Norfolk holiday hotspots to impose restrictions include Burnham Market, Sedgeford, Heacham, Snettisham and Holme-next-the-Sea. Similar fightbacks have been launched around the UK in locations such as St Ives in Cornwall, Salcombe in Devon, Swanage in Dorset and Tenby in Pembrokeshire
The government last year acted by closing a loophole which allows owners of second homes in England to avoid paying council tax an access small business rates relief by declaring an intention to let the property out to holidaymakers
Georgie Goldring, 27, was born and raised in Heacham but recently moved out to Hunstanton.
The café owner said visitors ‘bring business for people like myself’ but added: ‘You need a village to be for locals as well.’
The rush for coastal getaway homes and breaks was fuelled by the pandemic, when staycations became popular.
The government last year acted by closing a loophole which allows owners of second homes in England to avoid paying council tax an access small business rates relief by declaring an intention to let the property out to holidaymakers.
But critics say this has not provided a ‘silver bullet’ to fix the problem, while research suggests crackdowns like those in Norfolk can actually push up house prices as they make holiday homes scarcer.
A Snettisham resident, who didn’t want to be identified, said: ‘This isn’t over. Rich people will find ways around bans or will start taking over other areas.
‘Nice places by the sea that are still cheap because they are a bit out of the way or don’t have lots of shops and restaurants will be next. Then they’ll change too.’
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