Agenda item

 

DECISION

 

1.    Approve the report justifying the Introduction of Article 4 Direction in Appendix 1. 

 

2.    Approve the making of an Article 4 Direction which does not come into effect immediately but after 12 months (Annex 2) for the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area in order to revoke the permitted development rights for the following uses:

a.    Change of use from C3 (primary residence) to C5 (second home) or C6 (short-term holiday let) and specific mixed uses;

b.    Change of use form C5 (second homes) to C6 (short-term holiday let) and specific mixed uses;

c.     Change of use from C6 (short-term holiday let) to C5 (second home) and specific mixed uses.

 

3.    That the Article 4 Direction notice as is presented in Appendix 3 be published and served in accordance with the requirements, (accepting that it is not practicable to present individually to each owner and occupier within the area because of its size) for a period of not less than six weeks to allow the public to submit responses to the intention. 

 

4.    Receive a further report to consider any responses received (following the public engagement period) in order to make the decision to confirm the Article 4 Direction.

 

5.    Delegate the rights to the Head of Environment Department in consultation with the Head of Legal Services to make editorial adjustments to the notice prior to publication.

 

The report was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig.    

 

DECISION

 

1.    To approve the Justification Paper on the Introduction of an Article 4 Direction in Appendix 1. 

 

2.    To approve the making of an Article 4 Direction which does not come into effect immediately but after 12 months (Appendix 2) for the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area in order to revoke the permitted development rights for the following uses:

a.    Change of use from C3 (primary residence) to C5 (second home) or C6 (short-term holiday let) and specific mixed uses;

b.    Change of use from C5 (second homes) to C6 (short-term holiday let) and specific mixed uses;

c.     Change of use from C6 (short-term holiday let) to C5 (second home) and specific mixed uses.

 

3.    It was agreed that the Article 4 Direction notice as was presented in Appendix 3 be published and served in accordance with the requirements, (accepting that it was not practicable to present individually to each owner and occupier within the area because of its size) for a period of no less than six weeks to allow the public to submit responses to the proposal.

 

4.      It was agreed to receive a further report to consider any responses received (following the engagement period) in order to make the decision to confirm the Article 4 Direction.

 

5.    The right was delegated to the Head of Environment Department in consultation with the Head of Legal Services to make editorial adjustments to the notice prior to publication.

 

DISCUSSION

 

It was reported that, historically, it had not been possible to control whether or not a home was converted for use as a second home or self-contained holiday let. It was explained that the Welsh Government had introduced new use classes (C5 - second home and C6 - short-term holiday let), but there was no current requirement for planning permission before changing the use class of a house.

 

It was explained that introducing an Article 4 Direction would enable the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority to impose a requirement for planning permission before owners could amend the use class of their home. It was emphasised that there was no requirement for planning permission if the owner intended to amend the use class of their home from C5 or C6 back to primary residence (use class C3), unless an original application had previously been submitted to the Authority for C5 or C6 use.

 

It was emphasised that the main intention of the Council when introducing an Article 4 Direction was to gain control over changing use classes, not to prevent developments from proceeding.

 

An overview of the Justification Paper on the Introduction of an Article 4 Direction was provided, which noted the following main points:

 

·       The current situation was analysed detailing how the use of holiday homes had developed over the past four years.

o   It was reported that there had been an increase in the number of holiday lets over this period. It was also noted that there had been a reduction in the number of houses paying the second home premium.

·       It was confirmed that 7509 houses (12% of the housing stock) were second homes or holiday lets. It was considered that there was a possibility for this figure to be quite conservative as the Bed Stock Survey completed by the Council in 2019, jointly with information from Visit Wales, had suggested that provision of holiday lets alone was 3700-4500 in peak periods.

·       It was noted that a change had been seen in the Bangor area over the past four years. It was explained that there had been a percentage increase of 143% within this period of houses being used as second homes or holiday lets (from 0.97% to 2.38%), suggesting that there had been a change in the provision of second homes and holiday lets in urban areas of the county as well as coastal areas.

·       Consideration was given to the impact on the Welsh language, community facilities and house prices in communities with a high number of second homes or holiday lets.

·       It was confirmed that approximately 65.5% of the Gwynedd population, on average, had been priced out of the housing market.  It was explained that this statistic could change from area to area - such as Abersoch, where 96% of the population had been priced out of the housing market due to a high density of second homes and holiday lets.

·       It was concluded that introducing an Article 4 Direction was essential to try to reverse the side-effects of holiday lets and second homes on our communities and to ensure fairness and opportunities for Gwynedd residents.

 

It was noted that consideration had been given to four potential options to justify the introduction of an Article 4 Direction, namely:

·       Option 1: Dwyfor (Government pilot area)

·       Option 2: Areas where the current provision of holiday homes is greater than 15% of the housing stock.

·       Option 3: Vulnerable Areas (areas under threat)

·       Option 4: The whole of Gwynedd (Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area)

 

It was confirmed that Option 4 (The whole of Gwynedd - Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area) had been selected to implement an Article 4 Direction. It was explained that this option had been selected as implementing the Direction was an unprecedented process and it was impossible to fully anticipate the side-effects of its introduction. It was elaborated that it was important to protect the housing stock to ensure that suitable houses were available for Gwynedd residents and introducing an Article 4 Direction in this way would help to ensure that objective.

 

It was explained that it was intended to issue a notice of the proposal to introduce an Article 4 Direction and it would be possible for the public to voice an opinion on this proposal. It was noted that a specific website had been set up for this matter, where all the relevant documentation had been uploaded, and it would be possible to visit the website at Siop Gwynedd and Gwynedd Libraries. Furthermore, it was noted that an awareness raising session would be held for all Council members when appropriate.

 

It was explained that the Article 4 Direction order would come into force on 1 September 2024 to ensure that the Council complied with Governmental requirements and to ensure that the Council was not open to compensation claims.

                        

A concern was shared that Eryri National Park areas were not introducing an Article 4 Direction at present. Despite this, it was assured that officers collaborated closely with the Park but it was acknowledged that the Park's situation was different to Gwynedd as it was located over two different local authorities.

 

All officers of the Joint Planning Policy Unit were thanked for their innovative work to introduce an Article 4 Direction. It was noted that officers led on this work over the whole of Wales and there was regular communication with other authorities to introduce similar requirements in other counties.