Second homes
For many people, country life is challenging. Around 19 per cent of the English population lives in rural areas. House prices are significantly higher than the national average while rural wages are significantly lower.
Issues within the Lake District National Park
In the Central Lake District area house price to income ratios are 12.1 to 1. Issues that affect the Lake District National Park include:
- low wage levels leading to a large gap between local incomes and house prices
- high proportion of second home ownership
- increase in commuter homes and retirement homes
- shortage of land available for development resulting in the high price of building land
- need for quality design and use of materials sympathetic to the National Park to fit in with the surrounding environment
Report on second homes and rural communities
it has been argued that second home ownership is causing further strain on rural communities. This report includes:
- details on the ways in which second home data is collected
- the wide variety of definitions used to establish what determines a second home
- impacts of second home ownership on rural communities by looking at literature on the topic
- impacts of second home ownership on rural communities through case study information
