PEOPLE living in Britain's most expensive seaside town are relying on foodbanks, The Sun can reveal.

The same week picturesque Salcombe was being crowned the priciest coastal town, 161 deliveries were made to 400 struggling locals.

The South Devon town had an average house price of more than £1.2m in 2022, according to Halifax.

A number of celebrities have owned second homes in the town in recent years including Mary Berry, Sir Michael Parkinson and Sir Rod Stewart.

It overtook Sandbanks, in Dorset, which was the priciest coastal spot in 2021.

But the food bank in neighbouring Kingsbridge has made deliveries to Salcombe and surrounding villages.

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Gerrie Messer, operations manager and safeguarding lead at the food bank, said: "People would be shocked that in a place like Salcombe there are so many people struggling to make ends meet.

"I've had several people say don't give them anything fresh in deliveries because they can't afford to run their fridge.

"We have families we deliver to who are working three jobs but still can't make ends meet and rely on the food bank."

Poverty crisis

A couple of miles upstream from Salcombe, Kingsbridge is a very different world from the tourist hotspot.

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One in four children are living in poverty.

Kingsbridge hosts Salcombe's local food bank, which has been running since 2012, and saw an explosion in demand during Covid.

Gerrie said: ''Up until February 2020 we would have somewhere between 25 and 30 clients per week.

"However, we have seen a dramatic increase.”

The town’s hygiene bank is also struggling to keep up with requests for shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products from people hit hard by the cost of living crisis.

Second homes

The demand for second homes is causing tension with locals who cannot afford to buy a property in the sought after area.

One shop worker said: "I'm earning minimum wage. How am I ever going to buy a house here for £1.2million? 

"My family has lived here all our lives and I am fortunate enough to have a council house but that is the only way normal people can possibly live here.

"It's just got ridiculous. You won't find a single local living down by the water now and people from London are coming in, buying perfectly good houses and tearing them down to build ones that are more to their taste.

Salcombe will be a ghost town

"I heard of a family that bought two houses at the same time so the parents could have time away from the kids on holiday, it's madness.

"Give it ten years and Salcombe will be a ghost town because there will be nobody to work in the bars or restaurants.

"The community is dying. Everybody knows it but people are too afraid to say it because we rely so much on tourism.

"Personally, I would like the housing market here to collapse and for there to be a complete reset but I don't see that ever happening so it will slowly get worse until there is nothing left for people to do when they come on holiday."

Summer crush

Every summer, Salcombe is swamped by a wave of tourists temporarily taking the population from 2,000 to 25,000. 

Most are drawn in by the postcard estuary that forms the town's extensive waterfront, making it a popular place for water activities.

It is also favoured by ramblers who are drawn to the area's steep coastal paths.

But its popularity comes at a price. Average sold prices in Salcombe in 2022 were up by 33 per cent on the year before and 123 per cent in a decade. 

With the economy so dependant on tourism, many locals are forced to work long hours and multiple hospitality jobs over the summer months, when they can earn enough to cover losses over the quiet winter months.

Paul Billings, 70, has lived in Salcombe for 35 years, and works at Bowers Wines. He said: "You can instantly tell the second home owners. They will come in and buy our most expensive wine by the case. 

“In the summer we put it right by the door and we sell 20 or more cases per week but in the winter we hardly sell any. 

You can instantly tell the second home owners

"Sometimes the kids come in with mum or dad's credit card. They've just been told buy whatever you want for yourself. I just can't relate to that."

This week Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, announced the government was considering reducing the number of holiday homes, by insisting new ones should go through a planning process.

Gerrie, though, says that second home owners do give generously to the foodbank.

She comments: "We are also lucky to have a phenomenally helpful community that looks out for each other and that includes some second home owners but it's sad more of them don't become a part of the community."

Kingsbridge – despite its name – has also just cancelled plans for a street party to celebrate the King's Coronation because they weren't able to fundraise the £11,000 needed to cover the costs. 

Organisers said on Facebook: "Our attempt to 'Put the King back in Kingsbridge' has failed.

"We are so sorry that we won't be able to celebrate this event as one big community and that Kingsbridge businesses won't benefit from the extra footfall an event would generate."

Winter ghost town

While it is rich in natural beauty, Salcombe "does not function like a normal town", according to South Hams District Council leader Judy Pearce.

Ms Pearce, a Conservative councillor for Salcombe and Thurlestone, said the high proportion of second homes in the town "makes life quite difficult".

She said: "In the winter the town is absolutely dead, it's like a morgue.

"There is nobody around at all. The lifeblood of the town is stripped out.

"In a community you have a lot of people doing voluntary jobs but there just isn't the manpower in Salcombe."

But some locals defended the right of newcomers to buy property in this beautiful part of England.

Sam Long, who runs Devon Boat Sales and lives in the town, said visitors quickly fall in love with Salcombe because of the beauty and the lifestyle.

He says: "I can understand why it's the most expensive seaside town, why wouldn't you want to be here? It's a wonderful place to live.

"We have two kids and couldn't think of a better place to bring them up.

"The primary school is fantastic. When you finish school you can take them to the beach, go out on a boat. It's just lovely.

"I have never been on holiday anywhere that I liked better than Salcombe.

"We are lucky enough to own our own house, we would like to one day move to a bigger home but whether that happens or not, I don't know.

"There is always going to be somebody with more money than you, that's life."

Addressing tensions between locals and second home owners over house prices, Sam added: "There's a reason people want to be here, it's not going to change so it would be nice if everybody could get on and I hope that's the case.

"There is a small element of people who will trash second home owners but I don't think that helps anyone. 

"I do think there needs to be housing for every budget though because if there aren't homes for people to rent then you won't have people working in the cafes and bars or lifeboat crew or firefighters."

There can be tension between the locals and second home owners

Theo Spink, director at Luscombe Maye estate agents in Salcombe, said: "It tends to be second homeowners who buy the more expensive homes.

"They tend to be over 40 and have sold their company, had a big bonus or an inheritance and can be from almost anywhere.

"Part of the appeal for people is it's not flashy, there's no Michelin starred restaurants but there's a lovely old fashioned charm to the High Street. It hasn't been ruined or over-commercialised. 

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"There can be tension between the locals and second home owners but the truth is most of us that live and work here are dependent on the tourist trade.

"Most people appreciate that but it is testing in the summer because it puts a lot of pressure on the people that live here."

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