An update on the second homes council tax premium.
Cumbrae Community Council (CCC) called for a review of the second homes council tax premium, based on the fact that the Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) for Cumbrae had not been carried out properly and did not satisfy the requirements of the Islands Act. The ICIA did not consider changes to the policy to improve its impact on Cumbrae, as the Islands Act requires.
A review was prepared by North Ayrshire Council (NAC) and considered by NAC's Cabinet at a meeting on 8 October, where our claim was rejected, despite the overwhelming evidence supporting it.
This decision was called in to the NAC Audit and Scrutiny Committee by three councillors. The purpose of this call in was to assess whether the Cabinet’s decision had been made properly.
The Audit and Scrutiny Committee was due to meet on 7 November. However, we have been informed that the call in has been withdrawn, the meeting cancelled, and the decision of Cabinet formally issued. We are told this is because none of the councillors who called in the decision were available to speak at the meeting, and the meeting could not be re-scheduled.
CCC is shocked by this news, which is a slap in the face for democracy and transparency and shows no regard whatsoever for the Islands Act or for our legitimate concerns about the impact of the council tax premium on our economy and community.
We are trying to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and why, and will continue to pursue this matter, including assessing the legal options for taking it further.
As a reminder of why this matters so much - 30% of all North Ayrshire’s second homes are on Cumbrae, which has a population of just 1,262. This means the impact of the tax rise per person on Cumbrae is 74 times higher than on the mainland. It causes disproportionate harm, taking £500k out of the island’s economy, which is just £12.9m in total. The ICIA is required by law to consider mitigations for such serious impacts, but it did not.
And you can read our briefing in preparation for the Audit and Scrutiny Committee
here.
6 November 2025
