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| Make second homes very expensive, says Sir Andrew Motion | Make second homes very expensive, says Sir Andrew Motion |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Taxes should be increased to make owning a second home difficult for all but the very wealthy, according to the head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. | Taxes should be increased to make owning a second home difficult for all but the very wealthy, according to the head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. |
| Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate, said that second home owners were sucking the life out of villages and causing a national housing shortage. | Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate, said that second home owners were sucking the life out of villages and causing a national housing shortage. |
| "I think there's a question about whether second homes mean you have inert dormitory communities in the countryside through most of the week, very often lived in by people who scoot down in their cars, see their smart friends, don't join in the life of the community and don't feed into it," he told the Times. | "I think there's a question about whether second homes mean you have inert dormitory communities in the countryside through most of the week, very often lived in by people who scoot down in their cars, see their smart friends, don't join in the life of the community and don't feed into it," he told the Times. |
| "They're townies in the countryside. They make sure they're back in London to catch the 10 o'clock news on Sunday night. That means rural communities are gutted." | "They're townies in the countryside. They make sure they're back in London to catch the 10 o'clock news on Sunday night. That means rural communities are gutted." |
| Around 165,000 people have second homes in the UK and in some parts of Devon and Cornwall they account for almost half of all properties. Many argue that second home owners and the services they require provide vital employment in rural areas and maintain property values for all. | Around 165,000 people have second homes in the UK and in some parts of Devon and Cornwall they account for almost half of all properties. Many argue that second home owners and the services they require provide vital employment in rural areas and maintain property values for all. |
| Motion said that England's countryside was culturally more important than Shakespeare and should be preserved from new building and second homes. "I would increase taxes on second homes to make it very expensive," he said. | Motion said that England's countryside was culturally more important than Shakespeare and should be preserved from new building and second homes. "I would increase taxes on second homes to make it very expensive," he said. |
| Previously, second home owners only had to pay a fraction of council tax on their second home. Next month, most will have to pay the full amount on both their properties. | |
| Andrew George, MP for St Ives in Cornwall, wants councils to be given the right to regulate outsiders buying property in much the same as they currently manage planning permission and use of premises. | Andrew George, MP for St Ives in Cornwall, wants councils to be given the right to regulate outsiders buying property in much the same as they currently manage planning permission and use of premises. |