A Lake District local has launched a plan to buy back her town from second-home owners “brick by brick”.
Chinty Turnbull was told earlier this month that the Keswick building she runs an eco-cafe out of was up for sale. The assumption is that it will be turned into holiday lets.
The news prompted her to set up a campaign called Buy Back Keswick, Brick By Brick. She needs to raise £825,000 to buy the building and has already been pledged £65,000.
“When we raise the money it will become a community building, with rental money used to restore it,” she said.
One estate agent estimated that around 80% of the buyers in the town were not local.
Turnbull argues it is time to do something. “There’s nothing wrong with people having second homes if there’s space and room for everyone else,” she said. “If you want people serving coffee, cleaning holiday homes, sweeping up… then they need to be able to live here.”
