FAMILIES in a Yorkshire seaside ‘ghost town’ say they are being forced out and torn apart by holiday home owners.
The residents of tourism honeypot Robin Hood’s Bay, are facing a major housing crisis as demand for accommodation and second homes has driven house prices sky high.
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They live in fear as the next generation of locals arebeing forced to move out in search of cheaper property.
There are now whole streets without any permanent residents – and the only jobs on offer to young people who want to stay are lowly positions in the hospitality industry.
Donella Agar, 59, a mum of three and grandmother of five, dreamed of living in Robin Hood’s Bay since she was a little girl – but could only afford to buy in the adjoining village of Fylingthorpe.
From behind the counter in the Robin Hood’s Bay tourist shop she works in, she said: “I would have loved to have lived down here.
“But we could only afford an ex council house in Fylingthorpe. We did not stand a cat in hell’s chance of buying anything down here.
“When I was a little girl there were homes here. Now it’s a ghost town down here. The houses have been sold to outsiders.
“Those few locals who are left feel lonely because they don’t have any neighbours. My son came back here with his wife after coming out of the Army.
“But there were no jobs to pay for a mortgage on anywhere around here. So there is no way he can ever come back and I do not see my grandchildren very often.
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“I do not think there is any way we can go back now. It has gone too far. The village is all I know and I could not even afford to rent here.”
Pensioner Marion Berry, whose family have lived in the area for more than 100 years, said: “The real tragedy is there is not future for the young here – unless they want to work part time in a cafe.
“There are good things and bad things about the holiday homes. We see a lot of nice people and some who are not so nice and some who are downright selfish.
“I have seen them sat about all over the place refusing to move for an ambulance with its blue lights flashing.
“When I was a little girl there were homes here. Now it’s a ghost town down here. The houses have been sold to outsiders.”
Donella Agar
“They say they bring money into the place but do they? A lot of them are owned by people who live far away from here.
“Robin Hood’s Bay is becoming like. Whitby – all cafes, gift shops and other tourism places. And the traffic is getting terrible.
“We can’t get workmen to come down here to do jobs because of the traffic. A lot of people who used to live here have gone, partly because they got older and partly because they just got fed up.
“It has gone too far. There is no one local who can afford to live here. We have priced ourselves out the market. Those who do sell up are determined to get their price and it’s stupid money.”
‘WE NEED THE HOLIDAY COTTAGES’
But many of the remaining few homes are are occupied are run as local businesses – whose owners believe the holiday homes have given the village a new lease of life.
Suzy Purves, 52, has run the local sweet shop, Dollies, for 15 years and been a Bay resident for 16 years, since moving from nearby Whitby.
She said: “We need the holiday cottages for business. None of the shops down here would survive without the tourists.
“The upkeep of the village is better with the holiday lets. Every business down here needs them to keep going – so we love the tourists.”
Resident and cleaning business boss Dave Winter, 60, also depends on the holiday cottages for his livelihood but is concerned about the impact on the village.
He said: “We started cleaning them two years ago. Before that we were cleaning the offices at the local mine.
“The holiday cottage industry keeps the wolf from the door. They pay my wages. But I do feel there is too many of them.
“I definitely don’t think there should be any more. Any homes that come on the market now should be sold to private residents.
“It is Catch-22 because the more sold to full time occupiers the less business there is for me. But in the 12 years I have lived here I have seen a lot of change.
“The older residents have died off or sold up and not been replaced. So the village is not getting any younger.”
Local village store keeper Chris Bancroft, 38, said: “In the depths of winter there is only us and the pubs that are still open.
“We have to be pro holiday cottages for the sake of the business but you also need people to maintain them.
We need the holiday cottages for business. None of the shops down here would survive without the tourists.”
Suzy Purves
“You need cleaners, electricians and staff to service the industry and local people cannot afford to live here. My local pub has just lost a couple of staff.
“They will be replaced eventually but it is getting harder and harder to find people. So the village needs to be economically viable in winter as well as summer.
“The tourism traffic is also getting worse and worse and businesses are finding they can’t get deliveries down here.”
Mr Bancroft, who is also the local newsagent, says there are 24 properties in the village which have owner occupiers.
Of these only 13 are private houses. The rest are businesses where the owners live on the premises. There are 235 houses which are either second homes or holiday lets.
“You get whole streets with no one living there permanently,” added Chris, who reckons there are only 50 or 60 permanent residents left in the 24 remaining homes in village.
During the first pandemic lockdown of 2020, the village was sealed off to outsiders and the headcount was only 45 residents.
This comes as hundreds of towns across the UK have found themselves in the same desperate situation as Robin Hood’s Bay.
Withernsea in East Yorkshire is a popular seaside resort in the summer but locals are struggling to afford food in the off season.
The town has been ravaged by the crippling cost of living crisis – leaving hundreds dependent on emergency food parcels.
It’s seen hundreds more households signed up to a community scheme to pick up supermarket food at knock-down prices.
In Cornwall, Mousehole is an idyllic staycation spot – but residents of the small fishing village have to leave town to buy everyday essentials.
Rising visitor numbers have also wreaked havoc on the property market as houses are being snatched up by tourists for holiday homes.
And locals of Hastings, East Sussex claim that the demand for property in the “rough diamond” town has placed unsustainable upward pressure on rents.
General inflation and a cost of living crisis, combined with spiralling property prices are tipping lower earners towards poverty.
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