It’s been revealed that one in eleven homes in the South Hams is a second home.

The statistic comes from Action on Empty Homes who say the figure has risen more than 11 per cent since 2021. This is the fourth highest in England behind the City of London, North Norfolk and the Isles of Scilly.

Chris Bailey National Campaign Manager at Action on Empty Homes said: “The South Hams has more homes out of use long-term as a percentage of local housing stock than any other local authority in the South West except the Isle of Scilly (which only have a thousand or so homes between them). It is also one of the highest levels in the whole of England.

“It’s a tragic table to find yourself topping as a local authority, because it means that places like Totnes, once famous for local action to protect livelihoods and support local businesses such as the Transition Town Totnes Pound initiative, are now being hollowed out by an increasingly seasonal visitor-led economy dominated by 4,000 so-called ‘second homes’ and countless unregulated Airbnbs and holiday lets. This means that housing for local people to rent or buy affordably is increasingly difficult to find.”

“It is time that Government recognised that local democracy around housing is meaningless unless councils have a way to regulate the so-called ‘market forces’ sucking so many South Hams homes permanently out of residential use, as they become so-called second homes or Airbnb lets.”

Second homes are often blamed for driving up the cost of housing to a point it is unaffordable for many local people to buy or even rent.