Parts of Norfolk have some of the highest percentages of second homes and holiday lets, new figures have revealed.

Data from the 2021 census released on Friday shows there were 172,545 second homes across the country.

While they made up less than 5pc of properties in most local authority areas, they accounted for 5.8pc in North Norfolk, 4.5pc in Great Yarmouth and 2.9pc in West Norfolk.

Across the region, some 0.6pc of properties across the East of England are second homes or holiday lets.

The highest percentages revealed by the census were in the South West (1.3pc) and Wales (1.2pc), while the lowest were the North East (0.4pc) and West Midlands (0.2pc).

But in Norfolk's coastal honeypot villages, the proportion of holiday homes is far higher.

Eastern Daily Press: Burnham Overy Staithe, where 50pc of properties are holiday homesBurnham Overy Staithe, where 50pc of properties are holiday homes (Image: Matthew Usher)

Data released earlier this year listed parts of Norfolk as having some of the highest numbers per 1,000 homes in the country.

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They included Brancaster, Burnham Market and Docking (130.4), Wells and Blakeney (109.1) and Hunstanton (103.8).

Eastern Daily Press: Brancaster Staithe is one the coast's second homes hotspotsBrancaster Staithe is one the coast's second homes hotspots (Image: Matthew Usher)

But the statistics do not take into account tiny communities with far less than 1,000 homes, such as Burnham Overy Staithe or Holme, where around 50pc of properties are holiday homes. 

Figures also showed that almost half (47.5pc) of those who travel to homes in North Norfolk were from the East of England and that more than one in seven (15.2pc) came from London.

The boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea have the highest proportion of residents (5.7pc) using holiday homes.

Locals in the village dubbed Chelsea-on-Sea because of its popularity with well-heeled Londoners have voted for curbs on second homes.

Eastern Daily Press: Villagers in Burnham Market have voted for curbs on second homesVillagers in Burnham Market have voted for curbs on second homes (Image: Matthew Usher)

Villagers in Burnham Market have voted for a new neighbourhood plan which stipulates new developments should be "principal residences" and existing properties should not be turned into holiday lets.

One in four properties in the village is a second home or holiday let, while the population has fallen by more than a fifth in just two decades.

Some 948 people lived in the village at the 2001 census. By the 2021 count, the number had fallen to 724.