Northumberland affordable housing campaign supported by councils

Businesses and residents say house prices need addressing

A petition demanding affordable homes for residents in tourist hotspots has been supported by two parish councils.

Campaigners in Beadnell and Seahouses in Northumberland say local families are being priced out of the area and house prices do not reflect wages.

Meanwhile, businesses say they cannot recruit enough staff due to rising accommodation costs.

Business owner Rachel Douglas said people felt they were living in "the forgotten North".

"The council has said it's going to build affordable housing, but we need to know more about times and timescales, it's not just in the tourist spots where there is a deficit," she said.

Ms Douglas, who runs a housekeeping service in Seahouses mainly focused on holiday lets, said she had to turn down business over the summer due to the scarcity of staff.

A petition she launched with other campaigners has now been backed by North Sunderland and Beadnell parish councils, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Villages like Beadnell have a high proportion of second homes

The petition calls on Northumberland County Council to take "urgent action" to increase housing stock available only to people with "true links" to the area and restrict the "exponential increase in holiday accommodation".

North Sunderland Parish Council vice-chairman Alan Trotter said: "There's loads of jobs going in Seahouses - everywhere in Seahouses, people want employees - but people have to move away because they can't afford to live here.

"We're in negotiations to get affordable homes built in the village, but it's been going on for a long time now and so many of the houses going up for sale now are being bought for inflated prices to be turned into holiday lets."

In September county council leader Glen Sanderson said the authority was "working hard to redress the issue" and blamed the coronavirus pandemic for slow progress so far.