Council tax could double on Cotswold second homes

Susannah Bagnell wants more to be done so local people are not priced out of buying a house

Proposals to double council tax on second homes in the Cotswolds will be discussed "in a few weeks time".

Cotswold District Council members will debate a report after the government gave local authorities the power to increase council tax by 100% on second homes, under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

Susannah Bagnell, a chef who lives in Guiting Power, said she is unable to buy a home in the area and hoped the plan could make homes more affordable.

Council leader, Joe Harris, said the proposals were being explored because empty homes "aren't good for our communities".

'No hope'

Ms Bagnell said despite having savings, she has never been able to afford a home in Guiting Power, a small village of just a few hundred residents, or in the surrounding area.

A few years ago, she went to a housing auction hoping to secure a property in nearby Stow-on-the-Wold, which had an estimated value of £80,000.

But the house in the popular tourist town sold for £140,000 above the asking price to a buyer who planned to rent it out.

"It went for £220,000, as an Airbnb, so there was absolutely no hope" Ms Bagnell said.

The government announced earlier this week that it plans to put restrictions on holiday lets in place this summer to stop local people being unable to afford to live in their own community.

Gloucester City Council and Stroud District Council are also looking at bringing measures in.

But second homes in the Cotswolds are more prevalent according to Office for National Statistics data, which reveal about one in 10 properties in the Cotswolds are often vacant.

Susie Barrass has two children and is being evicted from her home in the Cotswolds because her landlord is selling the house

In September, an eviction notice was handed to Susie Barrass because her landlord wanted to sell the house.

The mother-of-two has been renting the house for six years.

Ms Barrass is on a list for social housing as she cannot afford anything in the private rental sector.

She has been waiting since September for a suitable home to come up and has boxes packed, ready to go.

"In the time that I've been here the rental market has shot up. It is horrid," Ms Barrass said.

She said she thinks that if second homes were rented out to locals, there would be more options, as it would lower market rental price.

Council leader, Mr Harris said there were a lot of purpose-built second homes in the Cotswolds so he wanted a policy that was fair and did not penalise people but the council had to "get to grips with" the situation in smaller "chocolate box" villages.

"Half the community is empty because nobody is living there. That's the issue we are trying to tackle and is what our policy will aim to do," he said.

On whether it will help the council raise money, he added: "It should raise around £3.3m but of course 90% of that will go to the county council and the police, so the district probably only gets about 7p in the pound - so about £250,000 for us."