Steve Broadhead, of Arinsal, Andorra, writes:

As a regular holiday visitor to Dartmouth, I've always had the town earmarked as somewhere I'd love to retire to, by which I mean live there all year round.

It therefore dismays me too, visiting the town out of season, to see the local restaurants etc starved of trade, because of absentee second home owners. The same is true of many parts of the UK, of course, not least North Yorkshire (I am a Yorkshireman). I am based in Andorra currently, but am increasingly looking to spend more time in South Devon.

So I did enquire at a few holiday letting agents this winter, as to negotiating sensibly priced, winter rentals on otherwise empty properties. Guess what? The owners were not interested!

If second home owners are so selfish it's difficult to know what the solution is .