Fury as UK’s most costly seaside city deserted by vacationers after new £10 cost | UK | News | EUROtoday

A brand new £10 cost has meant that day-trippers have stopped visiting a seaside city lately named the UK’s most costly coastal location. Lloyds mentioned in May 2024 that the typical property worth in Salcombe in Devon is £970,657, down 22% when in comparison with 2022, when the determine stood at greater than £ 1.2 million. However, Rightmove’s listing of the costliest seaside areas launched in August had Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs in Dorset ranked as primary and quantity two with £1.5million and £1.2million common asking costs respectively.

There are many second houses in Salcombe, which reportedly make up round 60% of the properties within the city, and native officers are already charging double council tax on these. Now, guests have been hit with a £10-a-day parking cost. Meanwhile, South Hams District Council has ensured that locals pays £5 for a yearly allow that lets them use the city’s automotive parks for £8 a day.

Businesspeople say that is driving away important enterprise.

Beck Gordon, who owns a restaurant and fishmonger mentioned: “It’s quieter generally. The parking’s definitely an issue.

“In terms of day-trippers, if you talk about more local people, they definitely don’t come any more.”

She additionally claimed that it’s cheaper to pay for a parking ticket every week – costing £25 and £50 – than to make use of the automotive park – which might value £70.

Ms Gordon known as this “absolutely ridiculous”.

A restaurant supervisor within the city mentioned that she paid £120 of her wages on parking.

Councillor Julian Brazil, government chief of the native authority’s group companies, mentioned: “We’d like to do everything to help the tourism trade and we have kept our car parking charges as competitive as possible. Residents of the South Hams can benefit from our discounted resident parking scheme.

“Many workers in Salcombe have benefited from our competitive parking permits, which offer significantly lower long-term parking compared to our pay on the day rates.

“Be under no illusion, we don’t want to increase prices, but this is the best choice for us under the circumstances we find ourselves in.

“Our prices have been frozen for four years, and now everyone who benefits from our public services are being asked to contribute, and that includes our visitors.”

Property specialists at Zoopla have highlighted Devon’s South Hams district, which incorporates the previous naval city of Dartmouth and incorporates Kingsbridge and Ivybridge, in addition to Salcombe and Totnes, as “desirable”.

They add: “Dartmouth and its surrounding town and villages offer a range of properties from terraces, cottages and merchants’ houses, to new-builds and luxury sea-view flats, town houses and boathouses.”