Fund key worker housing from second-home tax windfall, council urged

Devon County Council should put some of the windfall it expects to get from a forthcoming extra tax on second homes to provide affordable housing for key workers and people leaving care, a councillor has said.

Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil (who represents Kingsbridge) said the authority is likely to receive around £100 million over four years from an extra levy on second homes.
“We’ve been talking about how we need extra millions of pounds from government to fund education here, but we will get a windfall in respect of [additional] council tax on second homes,” Cllr Brazil told the council’s children’s scrutiny committee.
“We should ask Devon’s cabinet to seriously look at how it could use some of the money to invest in housing for key workers and care leavers as that would be a real investment in Devon that will take us further.”
The council has experienced some difficulty retaining staff in challenging jobs, such as those linked to special educational needs provision and children’s social care.
Cllr Brazil frequently raises the issue of unaffordable properties being particularly problematic for key workers such as teachers and NHS staff who want to live in the communities they work.
Although district councils collect council tax, much of it is passed to the county council.
South Hams District Council, which is led by Cllr Brazil, states that 62 per cent of the council tax it collects goes to the county, and a further 10 per cent goes to Devon County Council to fund adult social care. South Hams keeps just eight per cent.
Many of Devon’s district councils are to double council tax on second homes from next April. The children’s scrutiny committee passed a motion to ask the county’s cabinet to consider the idea.