Dennis Clark has resigned after furious backlash from locals (Image: SWNS)
The head of a parish council in a village dubbed’ Chelsea on Sea’ who controversially claimed there was ‘genuine hatred’ for second home owners in the area has resigned.
Dennis Clark, 77, faced calls to step down last year and was refused entry to some businesses in Burnham Market, Norfolk, last year following comments in he made in a newspaper.
Today the retired oil worker confirmed he had stepped down as chairman of the town’s parish council. The Georgian town is nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea locally because of the high number of properties owned by Londoners.
Mr Clark initially stood his ground over his comments, saying he would not be “bullied.”
Now parish council minutes reveal his resignation, stating fellow councillor Keith Morris has been elected as the council’s new chairman.
When contacted, Mr Clark confirmed he had stood down, adding: “I felt I’d come to the end of my term.” But he declined to elaborate further on his reasons.
Mr Clark made his remarks in an interview with the national paper about the impact of second homes on the area, which has one of the UK’s highest concentrations of such properties.
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Burnham Market is dubbed ‘Chelsea on Sea’ (Image: SWNS)
He said: “They have turned our beautiful village into something resembling Center Parcs.
“None of the people who work in the village can afford to live here, we don’t have a village cricket or football team any more.
“Obviously traders in the village benefit massively, and estate agents make a fortune, but there is also a lot of anger.”
Mr Clark had previously said calls for his resignation were a ‘witch hunt’ and he would not resign as he had ‘done nothing wrong’.
Second homes have become a flashpoint in the Burnhams and along the Norfolk coast, where around half of properties are now lock and leaves or holiday lets.
Locals fear the boom in second homes and holiday lets has driven up house prices, caused a shortage of rented properties and “hollowed-out” communities.
Burnham Market is one of a number of communities which have voted to adopt neighbourhood plans stipulating any new property must be a principal residence, where someone lives full-time.
Speaking last year, business owners in Burnham claimed Mr Clark had made “a fuss out of nothing” in the Georgian village.
One – who wanted to remain anonymous – said: “Second home owners and especially the holiday lets bring in a lot of trade to us especially in the summer time – without it we might not be here.”
“I have never once had an issue with them and while it might be the case that a minority dislike them, everyone I have spoken to is more than happy to accommodate them.”
Tim Roberts, owner of NoTwenty9 restaurant and three shops in Burnham, had called for Mr Clark to resign and described the comments as “incendiary and uncalled for”.