A veteran estate agent has warned house prices may fall in parts of Gwynedd if a new planning policy is implemented. Abersoch’s Martin Lewthwaite said people with homes to sell will see a “detrimental effect” on their values.
Cyngor Gwynedd Council is consulting on a change to planning rules designed to halt the rise in second homes and holiday lets. If adopted, the rules will apply only to the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area (LPAA) – the part of the county outside Eryri (Snowdonia), which has its own planning authority.
Cyngor Gwynedd aims to implement an Article 4 Direction. This will require owners of main residences, second homes and holiday lets to obtain planning consent before they can switch to either a second home or holiday let.
Article 4 will not be retrospective – it won’t apply to properties already established as second homes or holiday lets before the implementation date. This is due on September 1, 2024: cynics claim the long lead-in time is to avoid compensation pay-outs to homeowners caught out by the policy.
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Mr Lewthwaite, an estate agent on Pen Llŷn for 50 years, believes there will be casualties. He wrote an open letter to the area’s residents warning of the implications of Article 4 and saying he was “deeply concerned”.
Suffering the biggest impact will be people that live permanently in the Gwynedd LPAA, he said – and particularly where second homes are more common. By adding planning conditions to main residences, it will limit the market for potential buyers, he believes.
“All locals may need to move at some stage in their lives,” he wrote. “Whether it’s for upsizing/downsizing, needing to move for business reasons or sadly due to poor health.
"If Gwynedd Council implements this drastic policy, it will certainly limit the marketability of your property. It will have a detrimental effect on its value as it will limit the market you can sell to.”
While property owners can seek planning consent to change a main residence to a second home or holiday let, Mr Lewthwaite suspects this will be pointless. “It seems very unlikely that permission would be granted as they (councillors) are now fervently opposed to second homes in Gwynedd.
“To some extent, I can understand their reasons behind this. But they don’t seem to realise that these proposals will affect genuine local people that may wish to sell a property for whatever reason.
“A property is probably the most valuable asset you own. These proposals are going to take away the rights you have to sell to whoever wishes to buy.”
Others have warned of a two-tier market developing with prices of second homes and holiday lets pushed higher. As these will still be operating in a “free market”, without planning curbs, values could rise because supply will be restricted.
In contrast, those with main residences will struggle to sell them to people who eventually want to retire to Gwynedd, or who want to provide holiday accommodation. On social media, an Abersoch resident said: “Surely it’s against our basic human rights to be told who we can sell our houses to? Honestly, Gwynedd Council is beyond ridiculous.”
What Article 4 means
The Article 4 Direction will require planning consent for the following reasons:
- Change of use of a main residence into a second home or holiday let and “specific mixed uses”.
- Change of use of a second home to a holiday let and “specific mixed uses”.
- Change of use of holiday let to a second home and “specific mixed uses”.
At present, it is possible to change the use of a main residence into a use as a second home or short-term holiday let without need for planning consent.
Restricting supplies of second homes and holiday lets precisely Cyngor Gwynedd’s objective, given the scale of the housing crisis in the county. Almost 10% of all houses in Gwynedd fall into these categories. In some areas, the figure is much higher, such as Aberdyfi (43%), Trawsfynydd (42%) and Llanengan (39.8%).
For local people trying to buy a first home in their home communities, it’s becoming increasingly difficult. Cyngor Gwynedd is using new tools at its disposal to curb the trend, hiking council premiums for second homes and tightening letting rules.
Cllr Dafydd Meurig, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Environment Cabinet member, said an Article 4 Direction is another “important” ways of managing the local housing market. He said: “There is no doubt that holiday homes – whether they are second homes or short-term holiday lets – have an impact on the ability of the people of Gwynedd to access suitable housing in their communities.
“That is why Cyngor Gwynedd has been doing everything possible to introduce changes that would enable us to have better control of the area – and in turn try to ensure that our housing stock offers affordable homes for the people of Gwynedd to be able to live in their communities.”
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The council is urging residents and organisations to have their say on the public consultation, which is open until September 13, 2023. An online questionnaire is available here.
Paper copies are also available from Siop Gwynedd in Caernarfon, Pwllheli, Dolgellau, and at the county’s public libraries. “All responses received will be carefully considered before a report is submitted to the Council’s Cabinet for a final decision,” said Cllr Meurig.
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