Ge'orf my laaand

Someone at work is attempting to copy the success of the "no more road tax" e-petition that went round last year by doing the same thing, but calling for a tax on second homes. This is spurred on by the growing problem of affordable housing, particularly in the South West and specifically in North Devon. Here's the e-petition text:

"Where a second home is purchased, that 1% of the purchase price of the property is paid as a tax to the local authority, for the purpose of building affordable homes for families with a local connection to that area

In North Devon we have a huge problem with young people being prced out of the housing market because of low wages and high housing costs. Further, as an attractive area to live, many people choose to buy a second home. This reduces rented stock and forces house prices up. As a consequence many houses are empty for many months of the year whilst local people struggle to pay high rents because they cannot afford to buy. There is insufficient social housing and so this is not an option either. North Devon has 4000 people on the housing waiting list and only 200 properties became available last year. A small tax might make a huge difference . North Devon is not unique and a national policy would perhaps alleviate the problem in many other areas also."

This petition is making the most of the North Devon angle, but I would urge anybody who feels that something needs to be done to protect housing in their area to sign this petition, or even those who can recognise the problem and wish to do something about it, or even those who just like to sign petitions for the sake of it. Either way, go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/2ndhometax/ and sign up.