Call for golf town to block outsiders

Residents in St Andrews are being encouraged to emulate a Cornish town by exploring a ban on “outsiders” buying second homes.

House prices in the town — famous for its university and golf course — are so high many locals cannot afford to buy property.

Brian Thompson, a local Labour councillor, wants outsiders to be banned from buying second homes and for more affordable housing to be built for local people.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, whose constituency takes in the historic town, said “imaginative solutions” were needed to boost affordable housing.

In May, more than 80% of residents in St Ives, a coastal town in Cornwall, voted to reserve new homes for full-time residents.

Under the Westminster government’s 2011 Localism Act, if more than 50% of voters support a neighbourhood plan, the local authority must bring it into force. In Scotland, a ban could be achieved through planning regulations by designating the use of new homes.