A CORNISH homeowner cannot sell her 'dream' holiday cottage despite discounting it by £100,000 - thanks to double tax hitting second home buyers.

Debbie Pugh-Jones, 69, has lived in Golant near Fowey for 11 years but wants to sell up and move to Bath to be near her grandchildren.

The two-bedroom house was worth an estimated £425,000 during Covid but Debbie put it on the market last August at £400,000 hoping for a quick sale.

But there has been little interest and the price has gradually been reduced to £325,00 without success.

Debbie says the property market in Cornwall has been decimated by the rise in stamp duty on second homes and a doubling of council tax.

She says the community is in danger of becoming a 'ghost town' because of unsold properties that are empty.

''People are putting their houses on the market and just can’t sell them - the houses are lying empty," she said.

“It’s not good for the local economy. Second home owners bring a lot to the economy. When they rent out and people come here on holiday, they spend more and eat out more than people who are here permanently.

“I know somebody whose council tax has gone up to £6,000 a year, he wants to sell up because he can’t afford that extra tax.

“You’re going to end up with a ghost town. The locals try their very best to keep the pub going, especially in the winter, but the pub makes its money in the summer when the tourists come down.

''If that’s discouraged, that’s going to have an impact on the local economy.”

Stamp duty on second homes rose from three per cent to five per cent in October last year and Cornwall Council introduced a 100 per cent council tax premium on second homes in April.