Council faces £100,000 tax bill as its ban on second home owners makes its new flats in multi-million-pound seafront development unsellable
A council faces a £100k tax bill after its ban on second home owners left it unable to find a single buyer for a new multi-million-pound seafront development.
Bosses have been forced to lift the restriction on the flats in Hunstanton which were intended to go on the market – for local people only – in December 2023.
But the ’embarrassing’ failure to shift a single one of the 32 apartments has forced West Norfolk Council to lift its restriction on selling accommodation to people whose principal homes are elsewhere.
The block of flats – called Styleman Court – were built by the council and part-funded by Homes England.
But as the coalition-led authority has failed to secure a single buyer it risks blowing a further hole in its finances if the disused accommodation triggers its own empty homes premium.
It is understood the council would be liable to pay a double tax bill close to £100,000 for the empty properties.
If buyers are not found by February 2026, the empty homes premium will come into full force.
Fearful officials subsequently lifted the ban on second home owners in a behind-closed-doors meeting last month.
The block of flats – called Styleman Court – were built by the council and part-funded by Homes England
The ’embarrassing’ failure to shift a single one of the 32 apartments has forced West Norfolk Council to lift its restriction on selling accommodation to people whose principal homes are elsewhere
The Local Democracy Service reported Simon Ring, deputy leader of the council, said: ‘If the properties are still empty in a year’s time, we will suffer the empty homes tax, which will be like being hoisted by our own petard.’
Leaders have been said to show reluctance towards offering mortgages on the seaside flats as they fear it would make them unsellable in the future due to buying restrictions.
Confidential papers seen by the Local Democracy Service state removing the conditions would boost the value of each by an average of £39,500.
A spokesman for the council said: ‘The restriction was introduced to ensure that people who bought the homes lived in them. However, this had the unintended consequence of making it harder for local people to buy the flats because it affected mortgage availability.
‘While accepting that it also means people can buy the flats as holiday homes, the removal of the restriction is primarily intended to make it easier for local people to purchase them.’
Independent councillor, Paul Beal, told The Telegraph: ‘It’s a lesson that’s been learnt and a mistake can’t happen again. The flats are built on a car park … No one wants to live there full time.
‘But as a holiday home destination, I think it would be fantastic. It’s half a minute from the beach and you’re two minutes from the town.
‘Hunstanton was built for tourism, it is purely a tourist town and that’s the way it has to be. It’s our biggest industry so we should embrace it.’
Independent councillor, Paul Beal, said: ‘It’s a lesson that’s been learnt and a mistake can’t happen again. The flats are built on a car park … No one wants to live there full time’
Another councillor said the failure to secure a single buyer after 19 months was ’embarrassing’.
It comes as construction costs for the project have gone almost £2m over budget – believed to be the result of delays and the rising cost of materials.
The council did not comment further on the figure on account of it being published in a private report.
Six of the apartments are due to be kept by the council to be used as social housing.
The rest are scheduled to go back on the market without the ban on second home ownership.
Is THIS Britain’s saddest seaside shopping centre? Locals say the once-bustling mall is now a ‘ghost town’ with just three shops left open and addicts prowling the precinct
A seaside resort’s ‘ghost town’ shopping centre has become the latest casualty of a downward spiral which had seen the area plagued by drunks and vandals.
Over the years, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, once known as Queen of the Watering Places, has seen many High Street names disappear forever.
Once the main street was dominated by classy department stores such as W Rowntree & Sons, which had its own commissionaires (uniformed doormen), and Debenhams.
Now, they have been replaced by vape shops, budget stores, secondhand and charity shops, and gift shops selling tat.
Its Grand Hotel, once the resort’s jewel in the crown, is now run down and caters to people wanting only the cheapest seaside breaks.
Now, the Brunswick Centre, the once bustling shopping precinct unveiled in a blaze of glory in the 1980s, is just a shell of its former self.
Only three shops remain and they, too, are due to close soon – and plans to reopen the site as a cinema and retail complex have been greeted with scepticism by locals.
Scarborough’s ‘ghost town’ shopping centre has become the latest casualty of the UK’s downward spiral in the retail sector
The Brunswick Centre, the once bustling shopping precinct unveiled in a blaze of glory in the 1980s, is now just a shell of its former self
Only three shops remain – and all are due to follow the rest into closure soon
Over the years, Scarborough, once known as Queen of the Watering Places, has seen many High Street names disappear forever
Pete Nendick, 56, was a contract cleaner at The Brunswick for years but lost his job when management changed and they made new arrangements.
He said: ‘The shopping centre looks terrible at the moment. I used to be a cleaner. here. I was born and bred in Scarborough.
‘I know what it used to look like and how it is now. It used to be great. I remember coming here when I was little.
‘You could get anything I here and it used to be heaving. Now you get a lot of drunks around here in the morning.
‘There are addicts hanging around waiting for Boots [to open] first thing in the morning. I worked for an agency but was told in September that it is closing down and they are using their own cleaners.
‘Towards the end, someone came in every day asking, “When is it closing? What is happening to it?” All I know is it is a case of “watch this space”.
‘I have been looking at the picture of [plans of] how it is supposed to look but believing is seeing. I am going to miss it if it does close down because I love coming here.’
Jenny and Steve Bray, both 71, originally from Leeds, have just moved back to earby Bridlington, where Jenny’s late parents lived, after 38 years in Australia.
They decided to pop over to Scarborough for the day to check out the shops and were shocked by the state of the shopping centre.
Jenny said: ‘We remember when Debenhams was here. It was a great store. We used to come here to shop.
‘So it is just such a shame. It is all very well having a cinema, but who goes to the cinema any more?
‘We have seen a bit of trouble. We stayed in a hotel in Scarborough for a few weeks when we moved back from Australia.
After shops closed in the shopping centre, no new ones moved in to replace them
The result is the colossal building sits virtually empty with shuttered shops and out of order escalators
Plans to reopen the site as a cinema and retail complex have been greeted with scepticism
Pete Nendick, 56, was a contract cleaner at The Brunswick for years but lost his job when management changed
Also looking around the derelict shops in disbelief were Colin and Sue Winnington, from Cheshire.
They have been staying in Whitby and reckon it is now far superior to Scarborough as a tourist destination.
Asked what they thought of the shopping centre, Sue, 80, replied: ‘Not a lot. We were here a few years ago and it was nice.
‘It is only two years since we have been here and we could not believe it. But I cannot see these precincts coming back.
‘Our own local shopping centre has closed and they are going to build more flats, but we already have loads of flats.
Nodding in agreement, Colin, 86, added: ‘I doubt this redevelopment is going to happen. Online has been the demise of these places.
‘Why get in car and drive miles, pay five pounds to park, and then have to pay top prices?
‘Often they have not even got what you want but Amazon can deliver it to your doorstep the next day.
‘It is a shame because closing shopping centres costs people their jobs but it is happening everywhere.’
They had planned to book into the luxury Sands Sea Front self-catering holiday apartments in Scarborough but it was too expensive, so have decided to stay in Whitby instead.
Sarah Wellard believes no one is going to come in to regenerate the site
Outside the shopping centre, a stretch of brown belt land lies derelict and weeded
The shopping centre was once the beating heart of the town’s retail sector
Now it is a grim memorial to times of disposable income and plentiful shoppers
Sarah Wellard, 33, from Bridlington, said: ‘I don’t think they will do anything with this place however nice the pictures look.
‘It is like a ghost town in here. One of my friends was over and said you don’t want to go in there. But he did and could not believe it.
‘It is everywhere, though. Everywhere is shutting down, and Bridlington is the same. I used to come to the Brunswick all the time.
‘There used to be loads of shops here and it was great. Woolworths in Scarborough was great as well. You could always get a bargain.
‘Scarborough is not as bad in the day as it is at night when all the p***heads come out. The redevelopment is supposed to be starting next year.
‘I hope it turns out nice and a cinema would bring in a lot of people – provided it gets built and is not so expensive that the ticket prices scare everybody off.
‘It is shame. It used to be very popular. But people do not want to go out to shop any more because there are too many morons around.’
Wayne Owen, 40, from Sheffield, said: ‘It is all going downhill in Sheffield, too. But Scarborough is a real dump.
‘There are a lot of pound shops in Scarborough and a hell of a lot of charity shops. It is nothing like when I went to the seaside as a kid.’
Colin and Sue Winnington believe Scarborough has fallen far behind neighbouring Whitby in the seaside town pecking order
Locals say that on the rare occasions they do shop in town, they avoid the shopping centre
A shop bears a final goodbye to its customers on its frontage
Scarborough Group International, a leading property regeneration and placemaking specialist, and owner of the Brunswick, announced towards the end of last year that the centre will be renamed Square One
Outside, the resort’s main Westborough shopping street is heaving with shoppers
Gesturing at the shuttered shops, Alexander Robson scoffed: ‘What shopping centre?
‘If the cinema opens and we get new shops, it might bring the place back to life. We will have to wait and see what happens.
‘I remember coming here as a kid with my dad. I spent way too much time in Toyland and my dad spent way too much money. Now it is all gone.’
The 130,000sq ft mall now attracts only a handful of shoppers who wander aimlessly around the lower floor with nothing to do but leave again.
Only three shops remain – New Look, which closes on September 5; Retail Phone Access, which is holding a closing down sale and shuts on August 17, and Next, which is also due to close for good though no date has been set.
Scarborough Group International, a leading property regeneration and placemaking specialist, and owner of the Brunswick, announced towards the end of last year that the centre will be renamed Square One (SQ1).
It has also announced plans for extensive redevelopment works that aim to see it transformed into a vibrant, leisure-led destination including an Odeon multiplex.
However, locals are taking the idea with a pinch of salt. Council bosses have been struggling to attract a new cinema to the resort for nearly 20 years and so far the attempts have come to nothing.
More stores closed at Christmas – including Clinton Cards, and the flagship Holland & Barrett, which left its prime site next to the mall’s entrance and moved to a new High Street site 100m away.
Outside, the resort’s main Westborough shopping street is heaving with shoppers who said the demise of the Brunswick was symptomatic of the decline of the town centre in general.
The former historic Post Office now stands derelict, covered in bird droppings since it was relocated inside WH Smith’s.
The town’s Stephen Joseph Theatre remains a vibrant attraction at the top of the town – but just around the corner are graffiti daubed streets with day-time drinkers, run down houses and bedsits, and shabby boarded-up buildings.
Ironically, the town’s former Atlantis swimming pool, now a derelict site on the North Bay, which has barriers around the empty space – is also promising to be the site of the town’s new cinemas.
