Fresh concerns about the “lights out London” trend were raised today when it emerged that seven out of 10 properties on one Kensington street are second homes.
Of the 131 residential addresses on Ashburn Place, near Gloucester Road, 92 — 70 per cent — are not classed as a main home, according to figures from Kensington & Chelsea council.
Chelsea’s Sloane Avenue has the second highest number of second homes, at 569 of the 1,519 properties — 38 per cent. Stanhope Gardens in South Kensington is third with 21.2 per cent second homes.
The figures were obtained by the Steeple Times website through a Freedom of Information request.
Editor Matthew Steeples said: “It’s no wonder more and more lights are turning off in Kensington and Chelsea.
“But it’s a sad thing and if the character that makes the borough so appealing is to be retained, something really must be done to encourage long-term residents to remain or even return.”
The findings came as central London estate agents reported a surge of foreign investment into the capital’s property market following the Tory general election victory and the removal of the threat of a mansion tax.
The “hollowing out” of some central neighbourhoods by absentee owners is being blamed for the closure of local shops and restaurants.
Earlier this year restaurateur Henry Harris closed his Knightsbridge bistro Racine after 13 years because “the non-doms have bought up large chunks of central London and then only live here for certain months of the year”. Across the borough of Kensington & Chelsea 8,330 properties — around one in 10 — are classed as second homes, one of the highest proportions in the country.
Only the City of London and the Isles of Scilly have higher percentages of second homes, although both are areas with a relatively small number of residents.
In Westminster, the figure is 5.1 per cent, and Hammersmith & Fulham also has an above-average proportion of second homes at 2.4 per cent.
Across London one home in 70 is classed as a second home.
