British holiday hotspots vow to end tourism as towns plot crippling new taxes

An increasing anti-tourist sentiment is sweeping across some of Britain's most cherished holiday destinations, fuelled by the belief that the surge in holiday lets is exacerbating the housing crisis.

This year, stickers bearing an image of a burning house and the words "f**k your second home" were seen in the Lake District, a sight police described as "concerning".

Two years prior, a wall in St Agnes, Cornwall, was defaced with the message "no more second homes ... our village is dying", the Telegraph reports.

Local councils have been taking a stand against holiday let owners, making it increasingly difficult and expensive to own a second home by implementing new measures.

In 2022, Whitby's town council voted to prohibit the purchase of new-build properties as second homes, mirroring a decision made in St Ives, Cornwall.

Edinburgh introduced a licensing scheme for short-term lets last year. Gwynedd council in Wales has taken one of the most drastic steps, requiring homeowners to obtain planning permission to convert their property into a second home or holiday let.

Brighton and Hove councillors unanimously agreed to investigate the "saturation" of Airbnbs, with Green councillor Ellen McLeay stating that families had been priced out of the city centre, resulting in "ghost neighbourhoods".

Second homeowners are being gradually eroded, much like the years-long crackdown on buy-to-let.

Local authorities are also utilising powers granted by central government, doubling or even tripling council tax for second homes, leading to an increase in bills by thousands.

The war on second homes accelerated following the pandemic-induced property boom, when investors bought up seaside cottages and countryside retreats to rent out to staycationers.

As locals complained that communities were becoming ghost towns for half the year, the Conservative government became hostile towards holiday homeowners.

Michael Gove, the former housing secretary, expressed his despair last year over the transformation of seaside communities into "almost permanent Airbnb settings".

In his final Budget as chancellor, Jeremy Hunt scrapped the furnished holiday letting regime, which offered benefits such as cost relief for outfitting properties.

However, under a Labour government, there will be no respite. It is thought that the crackdown is being ramped up, with plans to introduce a new compulsory national register for short-term lets.

The government may also empower local councils across England to demand planning permission for holiday lets, akin to but less comprehensive than the "Article 4 direction" utilised in Gwynedd.

This could raise concerns, as it did in Gwynedd, that this move will negatively impact house prices by effectively devaluing residential properties.

This would deter second home buyers from purchasing them as they can't be used as holiday lets.