Martyn Tozer, of Plymouth Road, Kingsbridge, writes:

The cover article in the Gazette, December 30, has, I ­suggest, got the wrong end of the stick. Second homes should be seen as an asset to the authority.

To achieve this, a maximum quota should be set for each parish. Their rateable value should then be set to achieve this desired end.

If there are too many second homes, their rateable value should be, say, two times the normal rate. If this is not ­sufficient to reduce the percentage number of second homes, which would now be freed for local people to live in, the ­multiplier can be raised to three, four or five times the basic figure, until a balance is achieved over a period of, say, three years.