WHEN Edward Hudson founded COUNTRY LIFE in 1897, it was to celebrate ‘the search for beauty’ that was a city dweller’s ideal of rural England. It would open new horizons to urbanites adventuring forth in their new motor cars. A lucky few might even be enticed to go further, to find a second home in the bosom of Nature, the legendary ‘place in the country’.
Today, that place is turning sour. Before the recent pandemic, it was estimated that half a million families had second homes somewhere in Britain. This might be only 2% of the housing stock, but it has surged in coastal and upland beauty spots, often to more than 70%. House prices are inflated and communities eroded. Streets lie empty for much of the year. Protests are heard from Cornwall to north Wales, from the Lake District to the Yorkshire coast.
Hostility has gone political. Cornwall has prepared to double council tax on second homes and others have followed suit. The Welsh government now allows councils to levy a tripled surcharge on such homes, which could push top bands to £18,000 a year. St Ives demands that all new houses be confined to full-time residents. South Hams requires that titles be registered as for ‘principal residences’ in perpetuity. All say the same thing: Keep Out.
Esta historia es de la edición March 15, 2023 de Country Life UK.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 15, 2023 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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