Second homeowners who refuse to spend money are being blamed for an increase in homelessness in a seaside town.
During the half term, Alison Nicholls should be serving flocks of customers at her shop in Hastings, Kent but this year she said she’s lucky if one person walks through the door of her doughnut shop, reports the Sun.
She feels second homeowners and the cost-of-living crisis is putting her £3 treats out of some people’s budget and says this summer was the worst she’s ever seen.
The leader of Hastings Borough Council has warned that lots of locals can no longer afford rent, with more than 1,000 people forced into temporary accommodation.
Residents have said that house prices in the area have more than doubled in the last decade thanks to DFLs (Down From London) buying properties as second homes and Airbnbs.
Alison, 58, said: “Hastings is still a lovely old school bucket and spade destination for families. We have caravan parks at both ends of the beach and people will come here from far and wide to enjoy your quintessential British holiday – and that’s the market we cater for.
“Since lockdown, we’ve had a lot of Londoners move down. It’s brought a lot of money into the area.
“But I feel sorry for youngsters because the people that live here can’t afford to buy their own place. There’s no rental properties anymore because they’re all on Airbnb.
“And it’s been a bad summer for ice cream sellers. I’ve been doing this for four years and I’ve never seen it so bad.”
Council leader Paul Barnett said that more than 800 people have been kicked out of their homes after falling behind on bills and the cost of finding them accommodation could push the council to bankruptcy by March.
He is now calling on the government to intervene and is asking locals to consider letting homeless people use their spare rooms.
Cllr Barnett said: “It has gone from 170 people needing temporary accommodation two years ago. Now it is over 1,000 people here. It is a shock. And in a town of 90,000, that’s a massive percentage.
“We have to find homes for them in Hastings. At the moment we can’t find them homes so they often end up anywhere in Kent or Sussex. That’s a disaster for them and a disaster for us.
“But we need to go faster and we need government help to do that. This is a national issue that needs support from the Government. It’s a massive local issue too due to the massive rental market in Hastings.”
