Agenda item

To raise the Committee’s awareness about the legislative and national planning policy changes that are in the pipeline.

(i)      To accept the report, noting the observations made during the meeting.

(ii)    That a further report will be submitted to the Committee at its meeting on 9 March 2023, examining the potential area options where use of an Article 4 Direction can be evidenced.

(iii)   To ask the Department to include information about the consultation and recruitment in the report.

 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Assistant Head of Environment and the Planning Manager (Joint Planning Policy).  Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

 

-      It was explained that in the past there had been difficulties when trying to control the number of second homes in Gwynedd. This was because there were no regulations in place to prevent people from amending the use of their homes without the need to apply for planning permission.

 

-      Details were given that a new use class had been made to convert housing into accommodation for students in Welsh cities and this had driven a scrutiny investigation to look at the possibility of creating a new use class for housing converted into second homes or holiday lets.  

 

-      An investigation was commissioned by the Cabinet in 2019 to look into this area and the inspection report was adopted in October 2020 which included recommendations on the grounds of planning, licensing and finance. The Welsh Government undertook further investigation and had very similar findings.  

 

-      It was confirmed that three further class uses had now come into effect, namely: 

 

o   C3 – Main Home

o   C5 – Second Home

o   C6 – Short-term holiday lets

 

-      It was noted that owners had the right to change between these use classes without planning permission. In order to manage this, an Article 4 Direction must be made. It was noted that this would give the Council powers to require owners to apply for planning permission before changing the use class of their houses.

 

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

 

Attention was drawn to other campaigns that contributed to these developments such as Simon Brooks' report and the 'Hawl i Fyw Adra' organisation.

 

It was asked how the process of collecting evidence and data would be funded.

 

-      In response to the query, the Head of the Environment Department acknowledged that there were three steps to ensure that article 4 came into effect. Currently, the department was prioritising the first step, namely collection of evidence that was being undertaken by the Joint Policy Service.   Since this was unprecedented work, it was anticipated that there was a need for guidance from Counsel and therefore a need for additional finance.

-      It was confirmed that additional planning officers would need to be recruited when article 4 comes into effect.  It was likely that this would take place during 2023/24.   An application had been submitted to the Welsh Government since September 2022 for additional resources to ensure that the Council was in a strong position to act effectively when article 4 came into force.

-      It was explained that recruitment was a wider problem within the department due to the pressure to qualify and the language emphasis of the posts.  It was confirmed that work was being undertaken to ensure that the department's jobs appealed to graduates. The department shares the opportunities available with universities in order to attract candidates.

 

It was asked whether it was possible to get a report on the development of the recruitment policy to consider whether the time-schedule to implement article 4 at the start of 2024 was achievable.

 

-      In response to the query, the Assistant Head of Environment Department agreed that recruitment could be part of the department's report at the March 2023 meeting, however, the report would focus mainly on the options for the areas where the article four direction could be justified.  It was emphasised that it was currently aimed to meet the timescale but this could change as it was difficult to anticipate what obstacles may arise knowing that the process was unprecedented.  

-      It was explained that the changes to the use class had been implemented since 20 October 2022. Since then the Department had been implementing the legislation when dealing with planning applications for new housing by using a planning condition to remove the right for a change of use from the main home (C3) to C5 and C6 uses.  As a result, formal permission would be required to change the housing class use, and the aim was that this is done now before article 4 comes into effect.

 

It was also considered whether legislation was likely to create problems in areas where second homes were not currently a concern. It was asked whether consideration had been given to areas that bordered other authorities and whether there was collaboration with those authorities so that everyone followed the same rules.  

 

-      In response to the query, the Planning Manager (Joint Planning Policy) acknowledged that they had to be mindful that the system does not create problems in areas where no issues currently exist.  In order to try and prevent this, the department was following a continuous process of gathering evidence.

-      It was confirmed that there was regular collaboration with the Eryri National Park Authority. Evidence gathered was shared with them, and the collaboration process was very positive thus far. 

 

A member noted the need to give consideration to buffer zones. In response to a question regarding the size of the action areas of the article 4 direction, the Assistant Head of Environment Department noted that the area could be based on the electoral ward or a specific area.  He expanded that no options in terms of the size of the area were discounted, and he agreed that there was a need to consider areas on the periphery of an area where a direction would be in force.

 

It was questioned how areas requiring an article 4 direction would be identified, and it was asked if there were specific criteria to accept these.

 

-      In response to the query, the Planning Manager (Joint Planning Policy) noted that a great deal of evidence went in to identifying an area that requires the direction.  These included the Welsh language, the situation of schools and how many houses are rented out as Short-term Holiday lets. Evidence collected regarding each aspect was considered in detail to see whether the area needs an article 4 direction and the information will also be used for the benefit of new policies in the Amended Local Development Plan.

 

It was asked if enquiries were being made with the public to get the voice of the area's residents.

-      In response to the query, the Planning Manager (Joint Planning Policy) noted that a consultation strategy was being developed with the communication team.  There were no specific examples of how to undertake this, however, there was a need to ensure that we meet with the statutory requirements and give people in the area an opportunity to voice their opinion.  

 

It was asked whether a year's notice had to be given to change a dwelling's use use, what happens to housing sold prior to the article 4 direction coming into force, and the use class changing.

 

-      In response to the query, the Assistant Head of the Environment Department noted that unfortunately it was not possible to prevent changes between the class uses during the sale of housing process until the article 4 direction had come into force.  Although there was nothing that could currently be done in planning terms (apart from applications for new housing as already explained), it was possible that a new owner would have other interventions to consider such as taxation.

 

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

 

RESOLVED

(i)     To accept the report, noting the observations made during the meeting.

(ii)    That a further report is submitted to the Committee at its meeting on 9 March 2023, examining the potential area options where use of an Article 4 Direction can be evidenced.

(iii)  To ask the Department to include information about the consultation and recruitment in the report.