Council encouraged to bring in restrictions on the surging number of holiday lets in the Peak District and Derbyshire

Derbyshire Dales District Council commissioned a report by Iceni into its housing needs up to 2040.

As of August this year there were 970 second homes in the Derbyshire Dales, with owners living elsewhere for the majority of the year and either renting out the home or leaving it vacant for the remainder of the time.

Data from the 2021 census details 415 Dales homes are used as holiday lets and a further 120 are second homes used when working away from home – totalling 535.

Council data suggests this is “likely to be an under-estimate”.

Iceni details that there is widespread concern from Dales residents about the number of second homes and holiday lets.

It writes: “Impacts from this can include: Restricting the availability of homes to local residents, particularly lower-cost properties, with concerns that those living outside of the area are often able to out-compete local households for homes.

“In particular where rental properties are let as ‘holiday lets’ rather than to local people, this can increase ‘homeless presentations’ to the council, with resultant impacts on council resources where there is an insufficient supply of affordable homes. It may also affect the size of the resident workforce.

“[There can be impacts] on the residential population within settlements who use local shops and services, with concerns that levels of second/holiday homes can affect the vitality and viability of local communities and service provision within them.

“Everyday spending and use of services, from the local shop to pubs and doctors’ surgeries to schools, may well be greater where properties are occupied by permanent residents rather than that for properties which are only occupied part of the time/ seasonally.

“Issues can arise from the churn of people, from the storage and handling of household waste to noise from events/parties which impacts on neighbours and on enforcement services.”

The consultants say this needs to be balanced with the potential impact on the tourist industry, with availability and cost of accommodation impacting on visitor numbers and the length of stays.

They have recommended that the council brings in a registration scheme for short-term holiday lets across the whole district, including the peak park.

This would help monitor the levels of holiday lets and the potential for further required action.

It also recommends making it compulsory for homeowners to apply for planning permission to convert their property into a holiday let.

This would allow the council to bring in further funds but also to ensure holiday lets are more carefully managed.

The consultants also say council policies should indicate when, where and why holiday lets could be approved and that this would include a need to show proof the conversion was necessary to support local tourism in the immediate area and can be shown not to restrict the ability to meet local housing needs, or is brought forward in tandem with new affordable housing.

Council data shows 2.5 per cent of homes in the Dales are “second homes”, with most of the 970 properties being in council tax bands A-D, the lower cost, and smaller properties.

Bakewell is home to the largest number of holiday lets with 150, followed by Matlock with 106, Tideswell with 94 and Darley Dale with 70.

Around one in five homes in Stoney Middleton, Over Haddon and Hartington are holiday lets, council data shows.

A total of nearly 10 per cent of all Derbyshire Dales homes (one in 10) are either long-term vacant, second homes or holiday lets, the consultant’s report details.

It references 2023 research from the Times and Inside AirBnb which found the Derbyshire Dales had some of the strongest concentrations of Airbnbs in the Midlands.

This included particular concentrations around the Peak District National Park, including Bakewell, Chatsworth, Eyam and Hathersage.

Airbnb hotspots were also found around Matlock and Wirksworth, which were higher than many other parts of Derbyshire, the consultants detail.

The report details information from the 2021 census which shows people who own second homes or holiday lets in the Derbyshire Dales live in nearby cities such as Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield but also in London and Birmingham.

Meanwhile, it also found Dales residents had second homes elsewhere in Cornwall, the Lake District, North Wales and East Riding.

Earlier this year, the district council agreed to charge the owners of second homes double in council tax from April next year.

Cllr Peter O’Brien had said: “I think it is the uncontrolled spread of holiday homes that is the greatest threat to the sustainability of our villages.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Neil Buttle had said: “We are going to be playing whack-a-mole with rich people who are going to be popping up all over anyway.”