Rapid Evidence Assessment of the Research ... - Rural Housing

Social impacts
183. Gallent et al (2005, p36) note,
What are the social and economic impacts of households owning second homes?
“..the most controversial issue surrounding the expansion in second home ownership in recent years has
been the social effect….”
184. The authors highlight that this is frequently expressed as opposition to second homes for a variety of
interlinked reasons including:
• Conflict between existing and new residents;
• ‘Destruction’ of rural communities;
• Negative impact on local vulnerable households; and
• Socio-cultural consequences on the way of life – and, in Wales, the impact on language.
185. Much of the policy-orientated debate in the period from the 1970s to the 1990s centred on these
potential negative impacts. But a number of studies, highlighted in the recent literature reviews, noted that a
fundamental assumption underpinning much of the debate is that of a homogenous existing rural community.
In other words, second home owners ‘destroy’ traditional rural communities and create tension between
newcomers and existing residents.
186. Research studies pre-1997 reached no consensus. There was, however, a number of key interrelated
points arising from this work including:
• Social impacts are highly localised with detailed and more robust studies centred on specific villages and
settlements rather than local authority areas;
• Different patterns of social impacts are evident even within the same area because of the varied sociodemographic
profiles of settlements;
• Importance of investigating the social benefits such as increased confidence in local communities because
of new social and economic investment;
• The ‘social capital’ argument is particularly interesting given the emphasis and importance attached to the
work of Putnam (2000) in social science. But there have so far been relatively few attempts to apply the
concepts of bridging and bonding social capital in rural studies; and
• Importance of understanding the changing socio-demographic and economic profile of a settlement and area.
187. This latter point is particularly significant. A number of researchers pre-1997 commented that it was a
gross over-simplification to focus on newcomers versus traditional long established residents (for example,
Cloke and Thrift, 1987). More recent studies on the social composition of rural communities have highlighted
their diversity and the tensions between different interest groups (for example, Neal & Agyeman, 2006; and
Woods, 2005). This resulted in some studies making use of the urban sociological concepts of ‘housing
classes’ to better understand and explain conflict in rural areas (see, for instance, Dunn et al, 1981).
188. These broader studies on rural society and change have significant ramifications for research on the
social impact of second home owners. It implies that this is one of many groups competing for a scarce
resource – housing. Others may include, depending on local circumstances, commuters, holiday home owners,
and well-off traditional local residents. It is, therefore, extremely challenging to unpack the social impacts of one
group from another.
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