A call is being made for the town council to take action to combat the increasing number of residential properties — including many with local occupancy clauses — being used as holiday lets in Keswick.
One suggestion is that a letter should be sent to all holiday let agencies in the town reminding them that local occupancy restrictions preclude any dwellings from being used for holiday let purposes.
Another option is for agencies to be asked to instruct their clients to sign a declaration as part of their terms and conditions that any property being let for holiday use does not have any local occupancy restriction on it.
Both measures were being put forward by Tony Lywood at last week’s online meeting of Keswick Town Council in a debate about the rising number of holiday lets and declining number of residential homes in Keswick.
It follows a story in the Keswick Reminder last month, which revealed that three four-bedroom properties up for sale at Bridge Court, off Main Street, for £325,000-£345,000 — and each advertised with a local occupancy restriction — had been used for years as holiday lets.
The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) has already responded by stating that by April it will compile a public register of all the properties within its boundaries which have local occupancy restrictions, or Section 106 agreements, on them.
This would enable the LDNPA, or individuals living near or with knowledge of properties on the register, to check if they were being used as holiday lets.
Mr Lywood, who is a member of the LDNPA, will put forward a motion that the town council supports the Kendal-based organisation in producing a list of local occupancy restriction houses in Keswick.
The town council is also to consider what action, if any, it can take to “preserve the community vibrancy of Keswick in the light of the increasing numbers of residential dwellings becoming second homes and holiday lets”.
Section 106 agreements are mainly used to prevent properties being used as a second or holiday home and to maintain a resident population but they also have the effect of reducing the demand for a property, making them cheaper than their unrestricted counterparts.
