In accordance with the Notice of Motion received
under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Gruffydd Williams will
propose as follows:-
“That Gwynedd Council call
upon the Welsh Government to change the Planning Act in order that it is compulsory
to have planning permission to convert a dwellinghouse
into a holiday home/holiday unit, and adapts the policy framework to allow
thresholds to be set regarding the maximum numbers of holiday homes in any area
to a figure that should not exceed around 5% of the housing stock.”
Decision:
That
Gwynedd Council calls on the Welsh Government to change the Planning Act in
order that it is compulsory to have planning permission to convert a
dwellinghouse into a holiday home/holiday unit, and adapts the policy framework
to allow thresholds to be set regarding the maximum numbers of holiday homes in
any area.
Minutes:
Submitted – the following notice of motion by Councillor Gruffydd
Williams, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was
seconded:
That
Gwynedd Council calls on the Welsh Government to change the Planning Act in
order that it is compulsory to have planning permission to convert a
dwelling-house into a holiday home / holiday unit, and adapts the policy
framework to allow thresholds to be set regarding the maximum numbers of
holiday homes in any area to a figure that should not exceed approximately 5%
of the housing stock.
At the beginning of the discussion, a member noted that a second home
owner in her ward had contacted her asking what support would be available if
no more than 5% of housing would be permitted to be second homes, and that she
would pass the letter on to the Cabinet Member for Housing.
During the discussion on the motion, it was noted:
·
The high number of second
homes in Gwynedd made it impossible for young local people to buy houses.
·
This was not the first time
for the Council to draw this to the attention of Welsh Government.
·
The problem had increased
over the years and there was an opportunity to do something about the situation
through the planning system. The Government had already granted the right for
councils to make it compulsory to have planning permission to convert a
dwelling-house into a multi-occupancy house, therefore, it should be relatively
simple to introduce the same regulation in relation to holiday homes and second
homes. There was also a need to differentiate between second homes and holiday
homes, as holiday accommodation brought economic benefit.
If there were people failing to buy a house at all,
it was further noted that no holiday home should be permitted at all, and an
amendment was proposed and seconded to erase the last clause of the motion,
namely 'to a figure that should not
exceed approximately 5% of the housing stock', so that the cap on allocated numbers was
set at the discretion of planners and communities on a scale that would be
suitable for the area in question.
The proposer of
the original motion agreed to amend the motion on these lines with the
Council’s consent.
During the discussion on the amendment, it was noted:
·
The problem was not unique to
Gwynedd or this period.
·
Enough was enough, and that
young people were being priced out of the housing market.
·
More than 5% of housing were
holiday homes in some villages and the figure was up to 30% in some parts of
Gwynedd.
·
The suggestion that local communities
should be given a voice in the decision was welcomed.
·
One of the main principles
of the planning system at the time of its conception was to create a fair
system for all, but the current system was controlled by well-off people. The
holiday homes situation was one element of what was wrong with the planning
system, namely a system that was operating under an act that had been passed in
1990, and in a different country.
·
People should be warned that
an application to convert a property registered as a business, such as a bed
and breakfast business, back into a dwelling-house or flats on the open market
could mean that the said property would revert to an affordable home.
·
This was not only a
linguistic matter, it was also a matter for the community.
·
The villages were full of AirBnBs, with people coming there on holidays often taking
up more than one parking space on the street. In addition, local people were
unhappy that owners of the AirBnBs could claim a
£10,000 grant for businesses that were eligible for small businesses rates
relief.
·
It was earlier reported at
this meeting that research into second homes would take time, but it was
already the eleventh hour and evidence of the harmful impact of second homes
was already available.
·
Welsh Government statistics
regarding land tax per constituency showed that Meirion
/ Dwyfor was the second highest throughout Wales,
with £3-£4 million coming to the Government's coffers from second homes.
·
A 70% increase had been seen
in the sale of houses in Gwynedd over the last few months, compared to the same
period last year, and the majority were second homes.
·
Llŷn villages were besieged by
external developers, and tourism had reached its peak with an excess amount of
caravan sites and holiday homes.
·
Members of Nefyn Town Council, including Councillor Gruffydd Williams,
should be thanked for proposing clear actions to improve the opportunities for
young people to buy houses locally.
·
We would not have "prosperous and vibrant communities
where the Welsh language thrives" very soon, and there was a need to
remind the Government of the objectives of the Well-Being Act.
·
The themes of the three
motions submitted to this meeting of the Council were associated with problems
that had arisen as a result of all the visitors coming to the area, and that Brexit could exacerbate the problem as fewer people go on
holidays abroad.
·
People had now been drawing
attention to the holiday home problem for half a century, and 20 years ago, a
private measure submitted by Elfyn Llwyd on this exact matter had been thrown out by Tony
Blair's Cabinet.
·
It was hoped that we had the
will to protect our communities by means of this call on the Government, and
any other possible way. This was not the only answer, but it would be easy to
implement if only we secured the support of Welsh Government. However, positive
responses had not been received from the Government recently.
·
Local people in Gwynedd
failed to obtain planning permission and, therefore, there was also a need to
examine our planning policies here in Gwynedd.
·
It was hoped that recent
research from Gwynedd would encompass every aspect of this problem so that we
could say that we had done our best for our communities.
·
Second home owners were
converting the properties into businesses and were therefore granted Council
Tax relief.
·
People were migrating to the
countryside as they did not feel safe in the large towns and cities.
·
There were 2000 people on
the waiting list for social housing in Gwynedd and there was a need to act fast
on this matter.
A vote was taken on the amendment and it carried.
As the amendment was accepted, the Monitoring Officer explained that the
original motion had been amended and that a further vote was needed on the
wording of the amendment, rather than the wording of the original. The majority
voted in favour of the motion.
RESOLVED to adopt
the motion, namely:
That
Gwynedd Council calls on the Welsh Government to change the Planning Act in
order that it is compulsory to have planning permission to convert a
dwelling-house into a holiday home / holiday unit, and adapts the policy
framework to allow thresholds to be set regarding the maximum numbers of holiday
homes in any area.