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Our beautiful seaside resort is being ruined by holiday homes that leave locals homeless and streets like a ghost town
WITH a host of art galleries, historical coastlines and beautiful restaurants, the seaside town of Ilfracombe used to have a reputation as the cultural hub of North Devon.
But locals say wealthy second homeowners have eroded the once tight-knit community and left hundreds of people homeless and in temporary accommodation.
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Figures obtained by The Sun from North Devon Council reveal the area has one of the highest numbers of second homes in North Devon, accounting for more than 10 per cent.
And with barely any rental properties available, the council has been approached by almost 2,000 people in the past year in fear of losing the roof over their heads.
Businesses which once welcomed tourists in their droves are now either closed or boarded up because potential workers and customers have been priced out of the area.
Although things look brighter on a summer’s day with more tourists visiting the pretty harbour town, on a bleak winter’s day a much darker story lurks beneath the surface.
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Evicted after 20 years
On the rainy Tuesday afternoon when The Sun visited, of around 20 pubs in the area, only the local Wetherspoon, The Admiral Collingwood, was open.
Anita Courtney is the manager of letting agent Red Admiral, based on the once bustling High Street.
She said: “A lot of second homes were being sold before the pandemic, but with the increased the demand to holiday in the UK, landlords wanted to offer their properties as holiday homes or people wanted a second property by the sea.
“You can’t blame the landlords, as they were just reacting to demand, but it’s created a huge problem and people in Ilfracombe are really struggling.
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“As soon as a new property comes on the rental market it’s gone straight away. There’s such a lack of property that we’ll get a dozen or more people wanting to view it on the day.
“People are desperate because so many rentals were lost during the pandemic as landlords were fulfilling the boom in tourism. Some people had lived in their property for 20 years and, all of a sudden, had to move out.
“It’s such a loss for the area as there are no new builds and because of the shortage, prices are being pushed up, creating a catch 22 situation for people.
“Rental prices have been pushed up and I can’t see it getting any better either.
“Ilfracombe looks a little bit sad at the moment. There are businesses closing every week and something drastic needs to happen to change that.”
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Homeless and nine months pregnant
Renting holiday accommodation in Ilfracombe is a lucrative business for investors, who can make up to £1,500 a week.
But the local community is paying the price.
Sarah Suddens, 30, was living with her partner and his brother when she found out she was pregnant.
The couple needed more space and looked at more than 100 rentals online as they desperately tried to find a place to live.
Sarah, 30, said: “We needed to find somewhere for when the baby came, but rentals are almost impossible to find.
“I must have looked at three a week but by the time I rang up and asked to view somewhere it was already gone. I only managed to get two viewings in six months, and they weren’t suitable.
“In the end, when I was nine months pregnant, we managed to get a flat, and that was only because the agent knew how desperate I was and called me.”
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Tough times for business
Caroline Yeo, 39, was born and bred in Ilfracombe and works in Joey’s Gelato counter.
She says: “I understand why people would want to live here or have a second home here, it’s beautiful so why wouldn’t you?
“Ilfracombe was a thriving place with a close-knit community, but now the problems caused by second-home owners and landlords are impacting the spirit of the community.
“Many businesses are closed down, while restaurants and pubs have limited opening hours, because they don’t have the staff to open.
“Most of the holiday homes are empty this time of year too, so businesses are making very little money when they do open. Times are really tough here at the moment.”
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Evicted with son, eight
Residents who lose their rentals often end up miles away, in the next county or even living in holiday accommodation in the rural countryside, like caravans.
Emma Hookway founded the North Devon and Torridge Housing Campaign group when she and her son Louis, eight, were made homeless in the nearby town of Braunton.
The Facebook page now has 3,200 members.
They were evicted when their landlord sold their property, and now have a flat above a working man’s club.
She said: “I speak to people all the time who are in tears because they are facing homelessness after being evicted through no fault of their own.
“Some people say the second homeowners are greedy, but you can’t blame people for wanting to leave London, live by the sea with cheaper housing, or landlords who realised they could make a better profit leasing their properties as a holiday let, but it needs to be properly regulated.
“Some areas are becoming like ghost towns with nobody around and businesses closing, and the Government has to address it.”
Emma said a clamp down on eviction orders, planning permission being required for a change of use and limit to the number of homes being let for holidays is needed.
“Without proper regulations nothing will change,” she said.
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Tenth of houses are second homes
In 2021 Emma and a group of campaigners travelled to Parliament to hand over their manifesto.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron MP led a debate on the housing crisis later that year.
He released a seven-point plan, which contained measures such as banning section 21 no-fault evictions, forcing holiday let owners to pay council tax and ensuring AirBnBs match the same standard as holiday lets.
But second homes are still being snapped up and landlords are still changing their properties into holiday lets.
There are 13,363 second homes in Devon, 11 per cent more than a year ago.
In Ilfracombe there are 630 properties which are not occupied as permanent residential homes, which equates to just over 10 per cent.
This is made up of 275 second homes, 137 empty homes and 218 self-catering holiday lets, such as AirBnBs.
In the past year 1,840 people have contacted the council regarding housing, with 1,092 saying their current accommodation was under threat.
Of those 268 families have been placed in temporary accommodation.
Rise in homelessness
Ken Miles, chief executive of North Devon Council, said: “The council has been concerned about the numbers of properties that are not being used residentially for some time.
“In particular, we saw a substantial increase in the number of properties being used as short-term holiday lets a couple of years ago and the numbers across the district continue to increase with a further 100 properties being used for this purpose in the past 12 months.
“This has consequences for the area and for residents.
“The council’s housing staff have dealt with an increase in the number of people presenting as homeless and have also seen a major shift in the nature of person seeking assistance.
“Some are being evicted by landlords who wish to convert their properties from permanent residential use to short-term holiday use.
“Whilst tourism is of course a major part of the North Devon economy, 10 per cent of the stock in Ilfracombe is currently unavailable for permanent residency, which has an impact on our ability to find homes for people who approach us with a housing need. This leads to more public money being spent on expensive temporary accommodation.
“This can have a major impact on the personal lives of residents as well as local businesses and public services, such as health and education, who sometimes struggle to recruit because of the lack of housing.”
He added that people are increasingly opposed to new-build plans because they fear the new houses will be snapped up as second homes.
Last year, North Devon Council launched its ‘empty homes’ project to support owners of those properties to bring them back into use.
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The council has also committed to doubling council tax on second homes once new legislation is passed.
It has also recently written to all self-catering holiday let owners to ask owners to consider flipping their property back to permanent letting provided that there is no planning condition restricting its use.
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