Locals driven out in the hunt for rural retreats

...Last Wednesday Andrew George, MP for St Ives, met the Prime Minister to discuss the impact of second homes in his constituency, which covers west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, an area where more than five times as many properties are being sold to second-home buyers as to first-time buyers. He wants the government to introduce a flat rate 'second home impact charge' levied as a percentage of the value of the property. The money from this would be ring-fenced for local housing... more>