Second homes: Holiday home hotspots in Merseyside revealed

Holiday homes now account for one in 10 properties in some parts of England and Wales, new figures show.

But housing campaigners have warned that the latest government figures on holiday and second home ownership do not reveal the true scale of the problem of “homes sucked out of use” and that the issue could be 10 times worse once short-term lets are factored in.

Around 70,000 second addresses were used as holiday homes in England and Wales, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These holiday homes were found to be mainly concentrated in picturesque coastal areas and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

However, analysis of the figures by NationalWorld shows that Merseyside and the North West of England had a low number of holiday homes.

Number of holiday homes across Merseyside

Please note, for confidentiality reasons the ONS suppresses holiday home numbers that are below 10. The figures have all been rounded to the nearest five.

Liverpool: The latest figures show Liverpool has 80 holiday homes, with the highest concentration in the city centre.

• Albert Dock & Queen’s Dock - 15
• Pier Head - 15

Knowsley: The latest figures show Knowsley has 15 holiday homes, though there is no data for specific neighbourhoods.

Sefton: The latest figures show Sefton has 75 holiday homes, with the highest concentration in the below neighbourhoods.

• Southport Waterfront - 15
• Birkdale - 10

St Helens: The latest figures show St Helens has 15 holiday homes, though there is no data for specific neighbourhoods.

Wirral: The latest figures show Wirral has 75 holiday homes, with the highest concentration in the below areas.

• New Brighton -10
• Great Meols - 10
• West Kirby - 10

Regionally, the South West had the highest concentration of holiday homes with 7.5 for every 1,000 properties, followed by Wales, with 6.9 holiday homes for every 1,000 homes. London had the lowest, at 0.6 per 1,000. The South West was also found to have the greatest total number of holiday homes with almost 20,000, followed by the South East with just under 12,000 and the East of England with almost 9,000.

The figures are sourced from the 2021 census, which counts the number of dwellings used as a second address for at least 30 days a year by those living in England and Wales. Holiday homes accounted for 4.1% of the 1.7 million second homes recorded, with other types including the properties of a partner, parent or those used by commuters.

Concerns that holiday home owners are turning tourist hotspots into ghost towns have prompted crackdowns by governments across Britain this year.

But campaigners say the ONS figures do not account for many properties run as short-term lets, such as those listed on Airbnb, something Chris Bailey, national campaign manager at Action on Empty Homes, described as “Britain’s biggest unregulated money-spinner”.

The government said it was taking action on the issue and had already introduced higher rates of stamp-duty for second properties.