I am very concerned that Bridport is sleepwalking into a Cornish style housing nightmare, as there seems to be more and more people buying second homes in the area.
According to Dorset Council there are 5,722 second homes in the county and this figure is growing every year.
Another issue is renting houses out on Airbnb; a quick look on the website lists 1,000 properties in the Bridport area.
Selfishness and greed are causing major housing issues in many places and this town is definitely suffering from this problem.
It seems that a house isn’t a home anymore, in the meantime there are a handful of rentals available at high prices and very few houses for sale under £300k.
We should follow Wales, who have increased the cost of the land transaction tax (stamp duty) on second home owners and doubled council tax, this has resulted in a good number of second and holiday home owners selling up.
However, with a government full of second home owners I’m very doubtful that there will be changes any time soon and in the time being the housing crisis gets worse.
Name and address supplied
Bridport
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