‘Chelsea on sea’ residents vote to ban second homes: More than 80% in seaside haven where average house price is £1million back measures to curb holiday lets
- People living in Burnham Market, Norfolk, backed a bid to limit second homes
Residents in a seaside town dubbed ‘Chelsea on sea’ and where the average house price is £1m have voted to stop people buying second homes.
Burnham Market in Norfolk has been given the nickname because of the large proportion of Londoners with property there.
But a recent referendum in the coastal town has seen locals overwhelmingly back a bid to limit the number of second homes and holiday lets.
More than 80 percent of voters supported the introduction of new measures to curb such properties, by putting conditions on all new developments.
These require them to be ‘principal residences’ and ban existing homes being turned into holiday retreats.
Burnham Market has been dubbed ‘Chelsea on sea’ due to its high number of second home owners. Pictured: The No Twenty9 pub in the town
The average house price in the village has now risen above £1million, with locals complaining they’re being priced out
The proposals only needed 50 percent approval to come into force but in reality the final figure was much higher.
READ MORE HERE: Neighbours rail against rich second home owners destroying their picturesque ‘Chelsea-on-sea’ village and driving up house prices by 230 per cent
Dennis Clark, chairman of Burnham Market parish council, said: ‘The vote in favour was very strong. It’s a good result for a referendum.
‘When we put out an early document for people to comment on, they could do so from their armchair but for this they had to go out and vote and they have made their feelings clear.
‘It’s a positive move forward for the village because it is what the village wants.
‘We don’t want to keep people away from Burnham Market, but we want to encourage lower-cost housing so that the people who work here can live here.
‘We need young people to be able to stay here to keep the village vibrant.’
It is estimated that one in four properties in Burnham Market is a second home, and the population has fallen by more than a fifth in just two decades.
A 2021 census revealed Burnham Market has 724 residents.
Residents of the village have now backed a bid to curb second homes and holiday lets. Pictured: people walk down the quiet streets of the town
Poppy fields roll into the distance outside the village of Burnham Market in Norfolk
Stephen Fry (left) is believed to have bought property in the area as is TV presenter Amanda Holden (right)
Upmarket shops in the fashionable village of Burnham Market on the north Norfolk coast, England
After the recent sale of the historical Burnham Market pharmacy, disgruntled locals erected a fake English Heritage site plaque
Of them, some 635 people were eligible to vote in the village, with 201 casting their ballot – a turnout of 32pc.
In total 161 – 80.1pc – voted in favour and 40 – 19.9p – voted against.
The average house price in the village is now £1m and, as in other villages in the area, locals say they are being priced out.
Those who remain have warned of the area being ‘hollowed out’ by the large number of properties which are often left empty.
READ MORE HERE: Interactive map reveals the locations with the highest number of second homes – where up to one in 10 properties are used as holiday homes
Now the proposals have been approved they will become part of the village’s neighbourhood plan which will be used to guide West Norfolk Council when determining local planning applications.
In recent years the idyllic coastal village is said to have fallen victim to Nofolk’s ‘posh plague’, with celebrities including Stephen Fry, Amanda Holden, TV presenter Anneka Rice and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge having bought property in the area.
In 2019 the sale of a historical pharmacy sparked disgruntled locals to erect a fake English Heritage site plaque reading: ‘The Pharmacy 1830-2019 Burnham Market; a dying village, poisoned by wealth. Finally dispensed with. RIP.’
The pharmacy, steeped in history, was the unwitting vendor of arsenic to notorious murderers Frances Billing and Catherine Frary in 1835 – leading to the death of three victims and later the public hanging of the two perpetrators.
It was put up for sale following the death of pharmacy owners of thirty years Sue and Brian Symonds last year, the couple had moved from London to run the pharmacy in 1985.
It joined other local amenities including a village school, banks and post offices which have closed since the price hike – now replaced with high end shops and restaurants.
Source: Read Full Article