Resort to vote next week on keeping all new housing for locals only

RESIDENTS OF Whitby are set to take part in a referendum that could pave the way for radical changes to housing legislation and local government.

On Monday, the resort’s residents will go to the polls and vote on two questions that were agreed at a previous town meeting, which had been called in response to concerns over how much of the town’s homes were being consigned to holiday accommodation and a desire to cut local government ties with the neighbouring coastal town of Scarborough.

Polling stations are being set up at eight locations around the town and voters will be asked give a yes or no answer to the questions “Should all new build and additional housing in Whitby parish be restricted to full-time local occupation as a primary residence only and forever (in perpetuity)?” and “Do you want to stay in the same area committee as Scarborough in the new North Yorkshire unitary council?”

An official town poll and vote is quite an unusual step in parish and local government but Whitby has used it a number of times, with the last occasions in 2009 and 2010 to ask whether the people of Whitby would like to be part of a local authority independent of Scarborough Borough Council.

A campaigner said: “The mechanism of using a town poll to call for action on local issues of concern has been used or attempted by the townsfolk of Whitby several times over the past 22 years.

“It appears to be the last resort available to local communities. The result is in no way binding on any organisations or authority but, unlike many opinion polls and consultations, is generally regarded as a valid and representative expression of local opinion if the turnout is sufficient.

“It is, in effect, a referendum under Electoral Commission rules designed to ensure all residents have an equal opportunity to express their views.”