Sir,

Re. the 50 per cent increase in Council Tax for second homes, I have yet to see an answer to the following two questions:

1. Why is it thought that the increase in Council Tax for second homes will make house prices go down?

There are already three flats in our block which have been for sale for a couple of years. As many of us ‘second homers’ will no longer be able to afford to live half the year here - will Tenby become a ghost town of empty properties that young local people can’t afford and which are unsuitable for a family.

2. Why is the Council Tax so expensive in the first place?

We already pay more than friends do for a much bigger flat and lovely garden in Camden. The rise will make it equivalent to what five-bedroomed, three reception and large gardens properties in Zone 2 in London pay.

Echoing the ‘made to feel unwanted’ letter of June 10, even a single person would struggle to live in our tiny Tenby flat - as there is no room for cupboards... It could only ever be a holiday home.

Why did the council allow the conversion of hotels and large properties into tiny second home flats rather than affordable housing? So they could reap the benefits of all the high rated taxes - yet now they have a different agenda…..

Tenby used to be a wonderful place to live when I was a child. There were two cinemas, the De Valance which housed a musical at Easter and a play in the summer, plus concerts and of course the wonderful acquarium. There was a tennis club, a tennis court, where now there are houses and flats. Locally owned shops, no scaffolding allowed in the summer and no dogs on the beautiful sandy beaches. And today? None of that and the town is full of chain stores, pound and charity shops.

Be very sure councils that your strategy is the right one.

Jenny Thomas,

Tenby.