A Cumbrian MP wants to give local authorities the power to limit the number of second homes and holiday lets in their area.
Tim Farron, who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he will put forward an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill tomorrow, Tuesday, July 19.
It comes as shocking new figures revealed that there are almost 35 times more holiday lets on the market than there are long-term lets in Cumbria.
According to the website AirDNA there are currently 8,111 short-term lets in the county, compared to just 232 long-term rentals on Rightmove.
Mr Farron’s amendment, which he will present during the next session of the Levelling Up Bill parliamentary committee, would make a holiday let a separate category of planning use so that local authorities would be able to stop family homes being turned into second homes.
Mr Farron said: “These shocking stats reveal the scale of the housing crisis we face here in Cumbria.
“Of course holiday lets are great for the local economy of somewhere like the Lakes or the Dales but we’ve now reached the point where tourism businesses are unable to recruit the staff they need because there aren’t enough places for people to live.
“This is happening in rural areas right across our country and my amendment seeks to try to put a lid on this explosion of second homes.
“We desperately need to take action right now or run the risk of our communities being irreversibly turned into ghost towns.”
