Second homes in the Lake District

That this House is deeply concerned about the growing shortage of homes for permanent occupancy in the Lake District National Park, where around 25 percent of housing has no permanent resident and where, in some parishes, over 70 per cent of properties are used as second homes or holiday lets; understands that the numbers of second homes and holiday lets risks hollowing out local communities and create challenges for employers to recruit and retain staff; recognises the importance of tourism to the local economy and the fact that 17.7 million tourists visited the Lake District in 2024, supporting local communities and providing the area with £2.3 billion in revenue; and calls on the Government to give local authorities new powers to control second homes and short-term lets in their areas, establish new planning use classes for holiday lets and second homes, commit to building 150,000 social homes a year and support sustainable rural communities where there is no shortage of homes for the local community and tourism can flourish.