The idyllic moorland village where young people are being driven out by 'Londoners buying second homes'
10.02.2024 - 10:39
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Locals in an idyllic moorland village have told their fears young people are being driven out in favour of 'second home-buyers from London'. Mytholmroyd sits just over the Greater Manchester border in Calderdale, West Yorks.
It’s known for being the birthplace of poet Ted Hughes, its picturesque views and annual Dock Pudding Championships. And for being plauged by flooding whenever the River Calder, which runs through the village, bursts its banks.
But villagers say there is another problem facing them right now, YorkshireLive reports. They say young people are driven out to make way for holiday home buyers. According to Rightmove, houses have been selling for hundreds of thousands in the area.
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There is a population of 3,859 people in the 1.3km area, which is 96.9 per cent white and 57.1 per cent over 65 years old, according to the 2021 census.
Sisters Catherine Gray and Pamela Warhurst spoke about how they miss Mytholmroyd of old with so much changing over time. They’ve said in the past it was a tight knit community where everybody tended to know each other – but these days the sad reality is vastly different.
Catherine: “They all come from London and come and buy the houses which means the younger ones don’t get the chance then of going on the housing list. Although, I don’t think they’ve got the money to get on it nowadays.”
Pamela added: “It’s annoying because people are coming and buying here and using them as holiday homes. There’s something else as well, all the rents used to be a reasonable price, the rents are so much that the people who do live here, can’t afford them.”
Terry Marsden, 34, from one of the estates in the area. He’s