Call to curb second homes rejected

Caroline Flint said it was not fair rural people struggled to get homes

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The government has rejected calls to restrict second home owners in national parks.

The call was one of a raft set out in MP Matthew Taylor's report which warned that the long term under supply of housing in rural areas is holding rural areas back.

The government is backing proposals to "help" landowners establish community land trusts, help rural communities into home ownership and assist councils to deliver sustainable homes.

The report  recommends a new drive to boost rural jobs and community-led affordable housing through enterprise hubs, greater home working, neighbourhood extensions to market towns, rural exception sites for local people in villages, and an experimental restriction of second homes in national parks.

Housing minister Caroline Flint backed specific recommendations to ensure that planning policy on economic development reflects the needs of rural areas, as well as proposals for positive planning to ensure that larger settlements maximise sustainability and design quality.

Ministers 'yet to be convinced'

However the government is "yet to be convinced that the restriction of second homes would be either workable or deliver the intended benefits".

Ms Flint described the report as "comprehensive".  She said: "It's simply not fair that people in rural communities struggle to afford a place of their own."