AN East Lancashire council would secure an extra £240,000 in council tax every year if the reduced rate for second homes was scrapped.

Ribble Valley Council has been asked whether it backs Government proposals to give local authorities the power to abolish certain council tax reductions.

At the moment, the council can charge only 50 per cent of the normal level on homes which are long-term empty or deemed second holiday homes.

But concerns have been raised over the last year at the number of homes in the area being sold on as second homes -- prompting council leader Coun Peter Redpath to express fears about part of the borough becoming a 'dormitory borough'.

The council is applying for Government permission to add clauses to the contracts drawn up for the sale of council houses which would mean the buyer can only sell on to local people.

The fear is that local people are being forced out of the market because people buying holiday homes agree to pay more -- meaning the borough is hit twice.

A report to today's policy and finance committee reveals that, had the new powers been in place last year, the council would have netted an additional £240,000 on the 624 properties which currently receive a 50 per cent discount.

Councillors will be asked to respond to a government consultation paper which asks about the practicalities of the new system.

Although the extra money would be retained by the local council, the Government may decide to ring fence it so it can only be used for housing purposes.

It may decide it can also be used on other priority schemes which benefit the community, such as tourism or bus services.

Or it could be spent helping to build more affordable housing to lessen the need for young people to move away from Valley because house prices are too high.

The scheme would also extend to long-term empty houses, although it would be at the discretion of the local council to pursue the claim.

A report to the committee from the finance department reads: "There would be no direct expenditure as a result of the removal of such discounts.

"However, adopting such a scheme could have staffing implications."

Hyndburn Council has already said it would find it very difficult to chase up people owning empty homes in its borough. In many cases, the houses have been abandoned because they cannot be sold.