Published 14th Jan 2023, 00:00 BST

Last year, residents in the coastal town voted to stop new build properties from being sold as second homes in a non-binding gesture.

But just over six months on, and one councillor said he was seeing streets on new build estates “filled with key boxes” as owners choose to let homes for holidaymakers and stag and hen parties.

It comes as parents in the town continue their campaign to stop the merger of its two secondary schools, Eskdale School and Caedmon College which is being mooted due to falling pupil numbers.

Whitby located on the north east coast of England to the south of the Tees and north of the Humber. One of the towns most prominent landmarks is the abbey ruins situated at the top of the East Cliff, the town's oldest and most prominent landmark, and for centuries a navigational aid of sailors and inspiration Bram Stoker's Dracula story.

Around 28 per cent of properties in Whitby are believed to be second homes, as campaigners told of residents who need social housing being forced out.

Joyce Stangoe, of the Whitby Community Network, said: “People are told they’ve got to move to Scarborough where it’s cheaper, but that takes kids out of the school.

“We have an issue with a man at the minute who has been kicked out by his private landlord who wants to turn the house into a holiday place.

“He’s been relocated to Scarborough and has had to move his two kids to a new school. Both he and his wife work in Whitby.

Ms Stangoe, who was born in Whitby and has lived permanently in the town since 2009 continued: “I very rarely go into town. We’re losing all our local shops, we’ve virtually no clothes shops now.

"Whitby is not for residents now. It’s solely aimed at tourists. The balance is totally wrong.

“We’ve lost so much. When I moved here, I went to loads of adult education classes. Everything’s gone. Public transport has been reduced. We’ve lost a lot of heritage too, where it used to be a family centre, it’s now more of a hen and stag centre.”

Ms Stangoe said no real change had happened in Whitby since both the town’s vote, and the non-legally binding decision from North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) last year which would double council tax on second home owners.

For that to come into force, central government support is needed.

NYCC councillor David Chance, who was born in Whitby and has lived there since 2004, said: “Second homes would be charged at a premium and we estimate that would result in around £12m additional revenues. You can do a lot with additional revenue like that in housing.

“The one thing we need more than anything is social housing. When I was on Scarborough Borough Council, you used to get something like 90 applications for every house that came forward.

“We should be allocating housing to local people to keep our local economy buoyant.”

Coun Chance said waiting lists for social housing in Whitby can be up to two years long.

“You’ve got AirBnBs now on which there’s no control. It’s extremely difficult for local residents to get accommodation,” he said.

“The residents are being priced out. We’re building properties which are being snapped up as second homes or AirBnbs. Someone I know lives on a new estate - and she has realised how many key cabinets [often used in short term let properties] are on her street, and this is a new estate.

“They are being sold as second homes and being bought by outsiders, not by locals.”

Whitby "no longer a town for residents" say campaigners as fury grows over second homes