By Isle of Wight Observer
Dear Editor,
When the council chose to increase the council tax for second homes, did they for one minute think of the consequences?
These were the people with money to spend, restaurants to go to, shopping to have delivered, gardeners and cleaners employed, to say nothing of the tradespeople they employed. A real hit to the Island economy.
Gurnard has never seen so many £1 million houses up for sale. Obviously not aimed at the first-time Island buyers. Any smaller cottages in Cowes, Seaview, etc. are far in excess of Island salaries.
So if the owners can’t sell, the option of Airbnb is their next thought. They ruin the lives of their surrounding neighbours with the noise, parties, etc. We personally have moved home twice due to this happening.
And do HMRC benefit? I think not.
Where is the common sense in this? Surely this was all fully debated and the consequences fully discussed. I think it was a very short-sighted scheme to generate more money for future wastage.
Judith Hanman, Gurnard