North Norfolk has highest number of second home ownership in entire country, new figures show

The largest number of second homes anywhere in England and Wales outside of London is found in north Norfolk, it has been revealed.

In some of the most sought-after coastal spots more than half of available properties are second or holiday homes.

The leader of North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has described the situation as being "out of control".

The council said that in the coastal village of Salthouse, 79 out of the village's 157 homes - 50.3% - is a second home or holiday home. In Morston, the figure is 47.7% and in Blakeney, 43.3%.

Tim Adams, Liberal Democrat leader of North Norfolk District Council, said:

"We've obviously got significant pressures on housing, a lot of people on our housing lists, who are desperate to get into a home of their own… so we've got that significant impact."

Now the council is considering a number of initiatives to help tackle the problem including introducing a Cumbria-style model of voluntary contributions from second home-owners to help fund community projects.

Another option would be a system like in St Ives, Cornwall, where new-builds are restricted so they can't be used as second homes, but Mr Adams warned this could backfire, because it has led in St Ives to the price of the existing housing stock inflating.

Meanwhile in Wales, the limit on council tax premiums for second homes has been increased by 300%.

"I think we're going to need to look at these options very seriously, because it's out of control," said Mr Adams.

"The flipside is there are positive impacts of having second homes on the local economy… lots of the homes are used throughout the year as tourist accommodation, so there's a balance."

He added that he would welcome more powers from government to better control the numbers.

North Norfolk MP Duncan Baker said: "Ever since I've been in parliament, I've been campaigning for something to be done about the disproportionate number of second homes that we get in our coastal areas."

The Conservative MP said an additional levy on the council tax payable by those second homes would help tackle the problem - and conversations with housing secretary Michael Gove to empower authorities to introduce such systems were "ongoing".

"You could do it down to a granular level, based on the district council designating what tax would be charged in which parish," he said.

The MP said he also wanted more homes ringfenced for local people and closer monitoring of developers, to ensure they provide all of the infrastructure they promise to create alongside their housing.