A majority of 79 councilors approved the £14.8m tax raid, arguing it would make it easier for local people to buy their homes. The Conservative-run county council said the move would increase housing supply by funding new builds and providing incentives for those with multiple homes to sell. Gareth Dund, the Tory deputy leader, hailed the “groundbreaking” vote and made no apologies for introducing the tax. “I support this, not because I support higher taxation, but because I see the real challenges for local people in finding affordable housing,” he said. The increased tax will come into effect from 1 April 2024 if the Government’s Leveling and Regeneration Bill receives Royal Assent. The bill allows local authorities to impose increased tax rates on second and vacant homes, but it is still going through the House of Commons. The devolved Welsh government gave its councils the same powers in 2017 and will increase the premium to 300 per cent from April next year. In May, Cornwall Council said it would take full advantage if the new powers were granted. “It will give us extra income to go back into funding council services for the benefit of the people of Cornwall,” said Linda Taylor, the Conservative leader.
Fiery discussion
The sometimes heated debate at County Hall in Northallerton belied the comfortable majority by which the tax was eventually agreed, with just one member voting against and another abstaining. Cllr Stuart Parsons, an independent, accused the council of “running the risk of cutting its own throat” by launching the raid. “Punishing the achievers and the aspiring, having been encouraged to do so by the Conservative Party itself, seems to be the wrong way to deal with this problem,” he said. Conservative councilor Andrew Lee supported the tax but denied the strength of the council’s rhetoric against those who own multiple properties. “Demonising second home owners and blaming them because people can’t afford to buy a house in a certain village or have to move out because they can’t buy a house in a certain village is really nonsense,” he said. . “The real problem is that we are not building enough houses. It’s a matter of supply and demand.” The National Housing Federation estimates there are 8,199 second homes in North Yorkshire. The county’s most expensive properties are in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales National Park, where average prices of almost £400,000 are a third higher than the country as a whole.
Local opposition
Before the debate, two written statements were read from members of the public opposing the proposal, with no supporting ones being submitted. Sue Haley has spoken of her “disappointment” at the potential tax hike, saying she only has a second home because she cares for her Alzheimer’s-stricken husband at a separate address. “If I didn’t care for my husband, he would have to be cared for in a care home or go into care, with all the costs that entails for the council,” she said. The second statement came from Julia and Steve Whitby, a couple who bought an empty Methodist chapel in Nidderdale in 1997 and turned it into their second home. They said the council tax premium did not recognize that the conversion of a previously unoccupied building had actually increased the county’s housing supply. “We feel we are being punished and asked to pay for something that is not our doing,” they said.
