An alleged breach of a Cumbria-wide local occupancy clause covering three Keswick properties has been acted upon by a leading planner.
The Reminder reported two weeks ago that three properties which had been put up for sale — Mulberry House, Cranberry House and Blueberry House, all in the Bridge Court area of the town — had received rave reviews on TripAdvisor despite the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) confirming they were all subject to a local occupancy clause.
Area planner Kevin Richards said in an e-mail to Allan Daniels, a member of Keswick Town Council, that an alleged breach was investigated and it was understood that letting had stopped.
“I understand this has started again,” said Mr Richards. “I have been in touch with the owner and estate agent and have advised that the letting of the houses should stop.
“I understand that the houses are being marketed for sale in line with the occupancy restricted status.
“Anyone with interest in the land is liable to enforcement action — this is unlikely to include the estate agent (Dave Britton) or letting agent (Keswick Cottages).”
Mr Daniels had contacted Mr Richards after receiving what he described as “many enquiries from local people who are pretty irate” and to obtain clarification about what was going on.
A local resident reported that the properties were still being let out to holidaymakers on the weekend that the Reminder reported the story.
“We were not aware that these properties were subject to local occupancy clauses until we saw it in the Keswick Reminder,” said the resident. “It came as a bit of a shock and we would have acted on it if we had known.
“That weekend when the story came out there were people in on the Friday and three sets of people arrived to fill the houses again when the changeover took place on the Saturday. There was nobody in them last weekend.”
Local occupancy clauses are used to prevent properties becoming second or holiday homes and to maintain a resident population.
They also have the effect of reducing the demand for a property, making them cheaper than their unrestricted counterparts.
In October, the Reminder reported that nearly half the domestic properties in the Keswick area are now either holiday lets or second homes.
Statistics showed there were 794 self-catering holiday units with a CA12 postcode in September which was more than double the number in 2017.
A further 477 properties were, according to council tax records, second homes – a rise of 202 on the figure three years ago.
The Reminder has attempted to make contact with the owners of the properties through Keswick Cottages, but was told they did not wish for their details to be passed on to the press.
