Fury as UK's most expensive seaside town abandoned by tourists after new £10 charge

A new £10 charge has meant that day-trippers have stopped visiting a recently named the UK's most expensive coastal location. said in May 2024 that the average price in Salcombe in Devon is £970,657, down 22% when compared to 2022, when the figure stood at more than £ 1.2 million. However, of the most expensive seaside locations released in August had Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs in ranked as number one and number two with £1.5million and £1.2million average asking prices respectively.

There are many second homes in Salcombe, which reportedly make up around 60% of the properties in the town, and local officials are already charging double council tax on these. Now, visitors have been hit with a £10-a-day parking charge. Meanwhile, South Hams District Council has ensured that locals can pay £5 for a yearly permit that lets them use the town's car parks for £8 a day.

Businesspeople say this is driving away vital business.

Beck Gordon, who owns a cafe and fishmonger said: "It's quieter generally. The parking's definitely an issue.

"In terms of day-trippers, if you talk about more local people, they definitely don't come any more."

She also claimed that it is cheaper to pay for a parking ticket a week - costing £25 and £50 - than to use the car park - which would cost £70.

Ms Gordon called this "absolutely ridiculous".

A cafe manager in the town said that she paid £120 of her wages on parking.

Councillor Julian Brazil, executive leader of the local authority's community services, said: "We'd like to do everything to help the tourism trade and we have kept our car parking charges as competitive as possible. Residents of the South Hams can benefit from our discounted resident parking scheme.

"Many workers in Salcombe have benefited from our competitive parking permits, which offer significantly lower long-term parking compared to our pay on the day rates.

"Be under no illusion, we don't want to increase prices, but this is the best choice for us under the circumstances we find ourselves in.

"Our prices have been frozen for four years, and now everyone who benefits from our public services are being asked to contribute, and that includes our visitors."

Property experts at Zoopla have highlighted Devon's South Hams district, which includes the former naval town of Dartmouth and incorporates Kingsbridge and Ivybridge, as well as Salcombe and Totnes, as "desirable".

They add: "Dartmouth and its surrounding town and villages offer a range of properties from terraces, cottages and merchants' houses, to new-builds and luxury sea-view flats, town houses and boathouses."