Devon County Council should put some of the windfall it expects to get from a forthcoming extra tax on second homes to provide affordable housing for key workers and people leaving care, a councillor has said.

Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil, who represents Kingsbridge in the South Hams, said the authority was likely to receive around £100 million over four years from an extra levy on second homes.

“We’ve been talking about how we need extra millions of pounds from government to fund education here, but we will get a windfall in respect of [additional] council tax on second homes,” Cllr Brazil told the council’s children’s scrutiny committee.

“We should ask Devon’s cabinet to seriously look at how it could use some of the money to invest in housing for key workers and care leavers as that would be a real investment in Devon that will take us further.”

The council has experienced some difficulty retaining staff in challenging jobs, such as those linked to special educational needs provision and children’s social care.

While district and borough councils in Devon collect council tax, the majority of it is passed onto the county council to spend on its services, which include highways, social services, social care and education.

Many of Devon’s district and borough council are to double council tax on second homes from next April. The children’s scrutiny committee passed a motion to ask the county’s cabinet to consider the idea.

by Bradley Gerrard