'I'm Miss Cromer - but I can't afford to live here'

Charlotte Spendlove was crowned Miss Cromer last month

A carnival queen said she cannot afford to live in the town where she won her crown because rents were too high.

Charlotte Spendlove, 25, said that a one-bedroom flat in the town typically cost between £700 and £800 to rent per month.

"Although I earn a nice amount of money, it’s nowhere near enough for me to live as well as have my own home," she said.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the average rental price of a one-bedroom flat in North Norfolk is £573 a month, with average earnings in the area being £584 per week.

But prices are often higher in more desirable, seaside locations.

Miss Spendlove, the assistant manager of a café in Cromer, said that she "absolutely loves" life in the town, but when she rented there last year she simply could not afford it.

Miss Spendlove said that when she did rent her own place before, she had to work three jobs to afford it

“I paid all in all about £1,100 a month including bills," she said.

"I had three jobs going on at the time, just working to live is not brilliant. It’s not a healthy way of living at all."

She now lives four miles (six km) away in Roughton, renting a room from a friend, but would prefer to live in Cromer.

“You have your savings but there’s never really enough because you have to go into somewhere with five weeks upfront, as well as a month of rent," she said.

"You’re looking at nearly £2,000 for the first month. That is just not possible."

Cromer is a popular holiday destination and the pier is one of only five in the UK to still have a theatre

Many people struggle to rent or buy in north Norfolk because of the high demand for second homes from people outside the area.

There are 55,000 homes in the district, but almost 6,000 are either long-term empty or second homes.

From next year, North Norfolk Council will use new government powers to charge an additional 100% council tax premium to second home, furnished properties.

In Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk, almost 35% of properties are second homes or holiday lets

All candidates standing in the constituency in the general election agreed that housing in the area needed to be addressed.

Conservative Duncan Baker said the extra council tax on second homes could "raise nearly £8m alone" which he wanted to be used by housing associations to build more affordable properties.

"This is about creating the revenue to help them kickstart and get developing," he said.

The Liberal Democrat’s Steffan Aquarone said he wanted local councils to be given more powers to force developers to build more affordable properties.

"I know that the developers would build affordable houses if they were required to," he added.

Cathy Cordiner-Achenbach, from Labour, said she wanted the local council to start building social housing again.

"We need to be building properties for local families to stay in and move into," she said.

Green candidate Liz Dixon also said she wanted local authorities to build homes, but would end the Right to Buy scheme, which allowed most council tenants to buy their house for at least a 35% discount.

"If you build a council house, it needs to stay as a council house," she said.

Reform UK’s Jason Patchett said his party’s policy to freeze "non-essential" immigration would free up more properties.

"We have to put our people first," he said.