A call for Cumberland Council to identify more buildings and sites in Keswick to provide affordable homes for local people is to be placed on the agenda of the May meeting of the town council.
Cllr Benita Lapthorn presented a written notice of resolution from Keswick Community Housing Trust (KCHT) to the April meeting of the town council which called on Cumberland Council to continue the good work of Allerdale Borough Council which it said recognised the housing challenges in Keswick.
She said it had facilitated the conversion of an old toilet block in Banks Court and an empty bike shop at Otley Road into eight one bed flats, protected by local occupancy clauses and offered at an affordable rent.
The resolution said: “With the ongoing loss of housing in Keswick to the holiday cottage business, air BnB and second homes, we need Cumberland to continue the work done by Allerdale and identify more buildings and sites in Keswick that could similarly be used to provide housing so that people are able to have a secure home in Keswick and live in the vicinity of their employment.”
Cllr Lorraine Taylor supported the resolution saying that Cumberland Council could do more to support KCHT and housing associations while Cllr Louise Dunn reported that Cllr Claire Peat had been investigating and had found only one property to rent in Keswick – a four-bed house in Eskin Street costing £1,500 a month.
KCHT also called on the town council to request that Cumberland Council ring fences 100 per cent of the council tax premium raised from second home owners in Keswick, so that the money can be used towards the provision of affordable rental housing in Keswick, whether that is via new build, conversions or the purchase of existing properties within the town.
The resolution said that from April 1, many councils, including Cumberland, will charge a 100 per cent council tax premium on second homes, adding: “Cumberland anticipates this premium impacting 3,000 properties and raising an additional £4m.”
It said that in 2024 Keswick had 283 properties identified as second homes, representing 10 per cent of the housing stock.
