Agenda item

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn will propose as follows:-

Cyngor Gwynedd believes that no house should be anything but a home until everyone has a warm home which is fit for purpose.  This is the objective of this Council.  We call on the Welsh Government to enable this Council to act in order to put the people of Gwynedd first by creating a Property Act which will offer a statutory and local framework to support communities, housing providers and local authorities to respond to the current crisis.

Cyngor Gwynedd believes that no house should be anything but a home until everyone who has a local need has a warm home which is fit for purpose. This is the objective of this Council.  We call on the Welsh Government to enable this Council to act for the sake of the people of Gwynedd first by implementing a Property Act which will propose a statutory and local framework to support communities, housing providers and local authorities to respond to the current emergency.

(A)      Submitted – the following notice of motion by Councillor Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn in accordance with Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

Cyngor Gwynedd believes that no house should be anything but a home until everyone has a warm home which is fit for purpose.  This is the objective of this Council.  We call on the Welsh Government to enable this Council to act in order to put the people of Gwynedd first by creating a Property Act which will offer a statutory and local framework to support communities, housing providers and local authorities to respond to the current crisis.

The member set out the context to his motion, and noted:-

·         Thinking about the major depopulation that had happened in the countryside over the past century caused him concern and a sense of grief – this depopulation was continuing.

·         Cyngor Gwynedd had been at the forefront with regard to the housing crisis, and had taken firm steps in an attempt to solve the huge problem faced by our communities.

·         A Property Act was the natural next step in order to solve the housing crisis, since such an act would contain policies that would put communities first, regulate the housing market and ensure that local people have a fair chance of living in their communities.

·         A Property Act would also place an emphasis on investing locally and create an opportunity for communities to have support to buy assets in the community, as was happening in Scotland.

·         The Senedd would be discussing housing related matters over the next few months, and it was essential that a Property Act was accepted as part of the Government's objectives.

Members expressed their keen support to the motion.  The following points were noted:-

·         This was along the same lines as the previous motion, namely, how we can ensure healthy and prosperous communities in rural Wales.

·         A Property Act was absolutely fundamental. Without people, there could be no communities; without housing, we cannot get people to live in those communities, and without communities we would not have a rural economy.

An amendment was proposed and seconded to amend the first sentence of the motion as follows, to make the proposal more specific geographically:-

Cyngor Gwynedd believes that no house should be anything but a home until everyone with a local housing need has a warm home which is fit for purpose. 

Support was expressed for the amendment on the grounds that we needed to look after our own people.

A member expressed his objection to the amendment as it did not define 'local people' while the original motion included everyone.  In response, the Monitoring Officer explained that he did not believe that the wording of the amendment was inappropriate since '⁠local need' was a recognised term, and that it was essentially a request for legislation.

A vote was taken on the amendment and it carried. 

In his closing comments, the proposer noted that his concern about the housing situation had been one of his main reasons for becoming a councillor, and although the discussions were difficult, it was important that everyone worked together to find a solution for the people of Gwynedd, and also the people of Wales.

As the amendment had been accepted, the Monitoring Officer explained that the original motion had been amended and that a further vote was needed with 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:-

Cyngor Gwynedd believes that no house should be anything but a home until everyone with a local housing need has a warm home which is fit for purpose.  This is the objective of this Council.  We call on the Welsh Government to enable this Council to act in order to put the people of Gwynedd first by creating a Property Act which will offer a statutory and local framework to support communities, housing providers and local authorities to respond to the current crisis.