Inside Britain’s most expensive seaside town: How locals in Devon resort of Salcombe – where average house costs £1.2m – pay almost double for pints, chips and buckets and spades compared to most affordable coastal location
- Salcombe in Devon has been named as the country’s priciest coastal place
Residents of England’s most expensive seaside town are paying almost double for pints, chips and buckets and spades than people living in some other coastal towns.
Salcombe in Devon, where an average house costs £1.2million and hotels charge nearly £500 per night, has been named as the country’s priciest coastal place.
Locals say prices have skyrocketed in the holiday hotspot amid the cost of living crisis, preventing a ‘real and thriving community from being established in the town’.
Similarly, tourists are opting to visit Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland – which was dubbed the most affordable seaside town – instead as they try to beat the inflation-fuelled price hikes.
Residents of England’s most expensive seaside town – Salcombe in Devon (pictured today) – are paying almost double for pints, chips and buckets and spades than people living in other coastal towns
Locals say prices have skyrocketed in the holiday hotspot amid the cot of living crisis, preventing a ‘real and thriving community from being established in the town’ (Pictured: Shops in Salcombe, Devon today)
Grandmother-of-two Sheila Harrison (pictured today) has lived in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea for 51 years. She says Newbiggin, which was voted Britain’s most affordable seaside town, is a ‘hidden gem’ that has gained popularity amid the cost of living crisis
Tourists and locals alike will pay vastly different prices depending on which seaside town they spend their time in.
Some hotels in Salcombe charge nearly £500 pound per night, but in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea one room is advertised at just £25 per person.
The Devon resort has cafes charging £2.80 for a latte. Up north they cost just £1.90.
In Newbiggin-by-the-Sea a bucket and spade costs £5 but in Devon one place charges £11.
Punters pay £3.60 for a pint of basic lager in the northern resort, but in Salcombe some listings show £6.
A fish supper by the sea in Salcombe can cost £13, compared to around £9.40 in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
Chip shop owner Jagadip Ladhar, 35, owns Ladhars Fish Bar in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, which has been in his family since 1998.
A large fish supper costs £9.40 and Jagadip said they can’t charge the prices seen in other seaside spots like Devon and Cornwall.
Dad-of-two Jagadip said: ‘We wish we could charge those prices, but we just don’t think it’s fair on customers.
‘People take advantage of the seaside location and know they can charge what they want.
‘Once families are there, they are not always looking at the price of stuff, if the kids want something to eat the kids are going to get something to eat.
‘Fish and chips is so expensive now it’s become a luxury, especially in places like Devon and Cornwall when they can charge what they like really. ‘
Chip shop owner Jagadip Ladhar, 35, (pictured today) owns Ladhars Fish Bar in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, which has been in his family since 1998. A large fish supper costs £9.40 and Jagadip said they can’t charge the prices seen in other seaside spots like Devon and Cornwall
Hazel Steel, 64, (pictured today) claims her Sew Quilted by the Sea store in Newbiggin is inundated with tourists who are attracted by the lower cost of living
A fish supper by the sea in Salcombe can cost £13, compared to around £9.40 in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (Pictured: The menu for the Harbour Hotel in Salcombe, as seen today)
George Chegwyn, 25, who has lived in Salcombe all his life, claims the pricey seaside town has been ruined by holidaymakers and rising living costs.
‘I live in a one-bedroom flat and it just keeps going up and up and up. It really is the most expensive place to live ever,’ he explained.
‘There’s nothing here for me. It’s just second home owners who come down now.’
Mr Chegwyn, whose family has run the local yacht club for over 70 years, no longer wants to stay in Salcombe and claims it’s become a ‘real struggle’ to make ends meet.
He said: ‘There are no loyalties or secure jobs. It’s always been really expensive, but it comes back to the cost of living factor where everything’s going up, but the living wage never does.’
Mr Chegwyn also shared that most of the time there is ‘absolutely no one’ in the town, but when the holidaymakers show up they don’t treat the are nicely.
‘Three days ago there was absolutely no one here, but now there’s thousands and there’s rubbish everywhere,’ he said.
Beth Hillier, who owns a small clothing shop in Salcombe, echoed his concerns, saying the ‘crux of the issue’ is that many local business owners don’t actually reside in the town.
‘The problem is that because there’s a lot of holiday homes there, it outprices locals and prevents a real and thriving community from being established in the town,’ she argued. ‘Most people work and use the town for business, but like me don’t necessarily live there.
‘We suck it up and keep the shop open all year round to keep our staff employed, but it’s a ghost town in the winter – the town relies on the tourism industry.’
Tourists are opting to visit Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland (pictured today) instead of Salcombe as they try to beat the inflation fuelled price hikes
A man who has lived in Salcombe (pictured) all his life claims the pricey seaside town has been ruined by holidaymakers and rising living costs
A woman who owns a small clothing shop in Salcombe said the ‘crux of the issue’ is that many local business owners don’t actually reside in the town (Pictured: A Salcombe shop)
But unlike in Salcombe, residents in Newbiggin (pictured) say the town has become a ‘vibrant place’ in recent years
But unlike in Salcombe, residents in Newbiggin say the town has become a ‘vibrant place’ in recent years.
Hazel Steel, 64, a shoppe owner who grew up in the town, claims it is ‘the most underrated place in the UK’.
Ms Steel, a mother-of-two, claims her Sew Quilted by the Sea store is inundated with tourists who are attracted by the lower cost of living – and the fact that two people can have a lovely meal and a bottle of wine for between £20 to £25.
‘It’s one of the most underrated places in the UK,’ she said. ‘The bay is south facing so you get sunlight from the crack of dawn until sunset.
‘There’s lots of lovely places to eat out and we have events on all the time. All the shops are independent except for the Co-op.
‘There’s a really nice community here and people visit the caravan parks two or three times a year.’
She did note that ‘because everyone wants to be here’ house prices in Newbiggin have ‘doubled’ over the last four to five years.
Salcombe residents claim most of the time there is ‘absolutely no one’ in the town, but when the holidaymakers show up they don’t treat the area nicely (Pictured: A Salcombe home)
Salcombe in Devon, (pictured) where an average house costs £1.2million and hotels charge nearly £500 per night, has been named as the country’s priciest coastal place
The average house in Salcombe costs £1.2million (Pictured: The Marchand and Petit estate agency window in Salcombe, Devon today)
‘People come here because of the fact it’s a little bit cheaper here,’ she explained. ‘We get a lot of tourists from all over the world. In the time I have been here, there’s a lot more going on now.’
Karen Carr, 58, has owned craft shop Seventy Seven in Newbiggin for more than two years and has just opened up a sweet shop next door.
She said the town is a staycation heaven and plans on selling handmade sticks of rock for as a little as 40p.
Ms Carr said: ‘The town has a gently flow of tourist from Easter until October. We find that people who come here for a weekend often end up moving because they fall in love with the place.
‘It’s the land that time forgot really. Everyone here is lovely and charitable and what you see is what you get.
‘We want people to be able to afford whatever the offering is. We don’t have tourist prices and local prices we like to keep it fair for everyone.
‘There is a price parity between here and other seaside towns down south.’
Tourists and locals alike will pay vastly different prices depending on which seaside town they spend their time in (Pictured: Shoppes in Salcombe today)
Residents in Newbiggin (pictured today) claim: ‘There is a price parity between here and other seaside towns down south’
Grandmother-of-two Sheila Harrison, who has lived in Newbiggin for 51 years and is trustee of a heritage group, claims the town is a ‘hidden gem’ with a population of 7,500, but it also has disadvantages.
Ms Harrison, a retired teacher, said: ‘We have got around 100 self-catering and AirBnBs, but young people can’t buy houses, the majority of jobs are in the service industry.
‘During covid people were having staycations and they found us. In the 70s and 80s when the mines closed, nobody wanted to live here, it was in the top five per cent areas for deprivation.
‘It has become a vibrant place. We are a big fishing village and are expecting £3million from the Levelling Up fund, I’ll believe it when I see it.
‘There was a lot of coastal erosion but £18million as spent on trying to stop it, and now we have a lovely beach.’
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