Northumberland Labour says it welcomes the government’s announcement on holiday homes and lets.

An announcement is expect later today from Housing Secretary Michael Gove to say planning laws will be altered by the end of the year to allow local authorities to ban future holiday homes and short term lets if their local area has a shortage of affordable housing to rent or buy. The announcement is also expected to say that second home owners will have to get planning permission to rent out their property.

Deputy leader Liz Simpson said: “This announcement is very welcome. As we know our county depends on tourism but it should not be at the expense of local people who simply cannot afford to live in their local area.

“The face of many of our beautiful towns and villages has been completely changed with second home properties standing empty for large periods of the year while local people can’t find a place to live. The balance has tipped too far and we’re pleased this is being redressed, albeit a bit late in the day.

“Those whose second homes or short term lets in our county need local people to work in hospitality and the tourist industry but if local people can’t afford to live in the area they can’t afford to work in the area either.

“We agree with the government that tourism brings many benefits and we are proud of our beautiful county which attracts many thousands of people every year, but we can’t allow the situation of local people being pushed out of their local communities by second home owners and short term lets to continue.”