Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd The Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Article 4

Plaid Cymru is committed to tackling the issue of second homes and short-term lets, a situation that has rapidly developed into a crisis that affects our constituency disproportionately.

Plaid Cymru’s Co-operation Agreement with the Welsh Government included a comprehensive package of measures that take immediate and radical action to address the crisis, and one component of this package is giving local authorities the right to introduce an Article 4 Direction. This would allow local councils to consider whether planning permission is required to change from one use class to another. It is hoped that such a condition will help keep more properties within reach of local people.

We are sure you would agree that the figures paint a bleak picture of a fundamentally unjust situation, a situation that is unsustainable and detrimental to our communities.

· Around 40% of Gwynedd's housing stock in 2019 was sold to second home buyers.

· Homelessness in Gwynedd rose by 48% between 2019-20 and 2021-22.

· There was a 186% rise in people living in temporary accommodation between 2019 and 2022.

· 65% of Gwynedd residents in 2020 could not afford to buy a home.

In Gwynedd, a disproportionately high concentration of properties bought as second homes drive up market prices making housing unaffordable for local people as well as putting unsustainable pressures on local services and changing the cultural and linguistic character of our communities.

Tourism plays a pivotal role in the economy of rural and coastal Gwynedd, but any form of tourism must be socially sustainable and economically viable for the local population. More often than not, second homes contribute to a seasonal form of tourism that bears little fruit for the local economy.

Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS