In 1890, Whitby inspired Bram Stoker, who was passing through town, to set several chapters of his famous book Dracula. A source of pride for the inhabitants of this small seaside town in the northeast of England, as evidenced by the fangs and masks displayed in the windows of souvenir shops. But more than a century after the “birth” of the blood-drinking count, temporary residents are no longer in the odor of sanctity in the area, famous writers or not. In question, their annoying tendency to vampirize the local real estate market in recent years, notes the local information platform Teesside Live.
On Monday, June 13, voters said “Enough !” in a non-binding local referendum. By 2,111 votes against 157, the inhabitants of Whitby voted in favor of a restriction of the conditions for granting second homes and the provision of furnished tourist accommodation. “