Golant in Cornwall, which is near Fowey where stars like Gordon Ramsay and Dawn French have owned homes, was once a glamorous property hot spot, but is now said to be a ‘ghost town’ after a tax blitz on second homes
Desperate residents in a picturesque UK village are being forced to drastically reduce their property prices after demand for homes nosedived due to a tax crackdown on second properties.
A homeowner in Golant, Cornwall, is struggling to sell her waterside cottage even after slashing the price by a staggering £100,000. The village is situated near Fowey, where celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay and Dawn French have previously owned properties.
Debbie Pugh-Jones, 69, reduced the asking price of her home three times in 10 months but failed to secure a buyer.
As reported by The Sun, properties in the vicinity of Golant fetched up to £425,000 during the Covid-19 pandemic. With this in mind, Debbie put her home on the market for £400,000 last August but soon realised her two-bedroom house was now priced similarly to a small flat in a dilapidated part of some cities.
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The 69 year old claimed that potential buyers have been deterred by the increased stamp duty. She also pointed the finger at Cornwall Council’s decision to double tax rates on second homes, which is projected to generate £24million this year, reports the Express.
Locals in tourist hotspots like Cornwall argue they can no longer afford homes in their birthplaces as affluent outsiders snap them up but only use them when they fancy a get-away from the city.
On the other hand, local businesses argue that the revenue generated from second homeowners is vital for their survival. They also heavily depend on tourism during the bustling summer months.
Debbie said: “When you come down that much in price you would expect to get a viewing but I’ve had three in nearly a year. Nobody at all looked around between November and April.
“Double council tax won’t affect the very wealthy but it will affect the middle class people wanting to buy a second home. The community is at risk of changing because some of the second home buyers in this village aren’t happy to be paying double council tax.
“Around half of the houses in this village are second homes and the rest are retired people, there are very few people working in this village. It’s making them struggle but even if they wanted to sell they wouldn’t be able to.”
She continued: “People living here used to work in farms and on the boats but all those industries are gone and the village doesn’t have a school, it’s not near a bus route and it doesn’t have any amenities. I’m not depriving a first time buyer of a place to live because it’s not the sort of house that would suit them.”
After purchasing her Cornwall home for £240,000 in 2013, Debbie moved to Bath following her mother’s death last year. She invested a total of £30,000 in refurbishments during her time there.
She explained: “It had always been my dream to retire to the coast. It was the view that attracted me, the river view is nicer than the sea view because it is always changing. I paid a premium for it because I paid for the views but straight away I fell in love with it.”
Nick Budd, the publican of The Fisherman’s Arms in Golant, acknowledges that second homes are a part of life in the area, adding: “It’s a hard one because not all second home owners are the same. You have the holiday lets which are great for us, because when people come on holiday they want to eat out and drink in the pub.
“Then you have the lock up and leave its and they are the ones that kill us. The overwhelming outcome of property price rises is young people cannot afford to buy a house in the village and that situation needs addressing.”
Last year reportedly saw nearly 9,500 properties in Cornwall held as second homes. However, interest in them plummeted after the new tourist tax was introduced on April 1.
Bradley Start from Start & Co Estate Agents in Newquay noted: “They’ve received these demands for twice as much council tax and that’s prompted a lot of people to think about selling.”
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