WEALTHY in-comers buying second homes in York are expected to create a housing crisis in the next decade.

Thousands of people are already struggling to buy in their home city, as outsiders snap up affordable properties.

But a senior city councillor claims new tax incentives on second homes will lead to an even greater influx of people wanting to live here.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced plans allowing people to include buy-to-let homes in pension portfolios.

So from next April, second homes will become even more attractive - offering up to 40 per cent tax relief.

Coun Andrew Waller, executive member for environment and sustainability, was highly critical of the Government scheme and said more needed to be done to help local people. He said: "The Government is yet again making concessions to Britain's wealthiest citizens, at the expense of those people who are struggling to establish their first home.

"The tax relief proposed by Gordon Brown will ensure that more property is snapped up by higher-rate taxpayers, leading to a further rise in prices and fewer homes available for families and young people.

"Whilst the issue has been highlighted in rural areas, it is also of great concern in a city such as York, where many properties are already snapped up as buy-to-let, and residents struggle to afford any homes at all."

Neil Cussons, Steve Barley and Andy Bonner, who set up the political party Keep York Local, said affordable housing was at the top of their manifesto.

Mr Cussons said: "York is being financially cleansed. It is impossible for people just starting out to afford a home. It would be interesting to know just how many places in York are owned as second properties and to see what effect this proposal will have."

Pressures are twofold - with some professionals living in York part-time while owning city pads in London or Leeds, and others buying second properties to rent out.

An increase in single-person households and huge competition for cheaper properties are making it ever more difficult for first-time buyers.

One couple experiencing the difficulty of buying their first home are Bethan King and Aidan Beasley, of Bishopfield Drive, who have been looking for a property for more than a year.

Bethan, 25, said: "We wanted to buy somewhere together, but when we started looking there was nowhere we could afford.

"We've saved a deposit in the hope of getting a bigger mortgage, but even now the only places we can afford are houses which need a lot of work, which we can't afford to do."

Bethan, a schoolteacher, and Aidan, 29, an electronic engineer, live on a combined income of £48,500 in rented accommodation, but could not afford the mortgage on a similar property of their own.

"I think it is disgusting that the Government will be helping more landlords buy into the area because it is bad enough as it is," said Bethan. "Our street is always full of 'to let' signs, but we hardly ever see places for sale."

Coun Waller said: "I used to live in the Leeman Road area of York and noticed there was a dramatic increase in the number of properties being offered to let.

"There has always been an element of investment - but now the Chancellor is encouraging the situation, it will get worse."

Homes insurance company Direct Line predicts that by 2015, 405,000 people across the UK will own second homes - a 24 per cent rise.

Updated: 10:29 Thursday, September 01, 2005