Second homes and holiday lets curb slammed as a 'big brother' move
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North Wales Live readers are concerned to hear that planning chiefs have stated that new restrictions on second homes and holiday lets in Eryri will grant "more control" over local housing stock. Data reveals nearly half the homes in one village are second homes. A new Article 4 Direction within the Eryri National Park as of June 1, 2025, has curtailed rights concerning the conversion of primary residences to second homes or short-term holiday lets, including certain mixed uses.
This move also affects the change of use between second homes and holiday lets. Following this, the planning and access committee of Eryri National Park has endorsed proposals regarding its Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), which aims to regulate the usage of dwellings as holiday homes.
The SPG establishes an annual review process to determine a threshold percentage for allowable properties, with 15% being deemed an "appropriate" limit for the number of holiday or second homes in specific locales. Across Eryri, the current rate is 17.4%, but setting a 15% cap for individual areas aligns with policy frameworks of other authorities.
Statistics indicate the proportion of second homes and short-term lets across community council regions, with Aberdyfi topping the list at 45%. Cllr Elwyn Jones queried the rise and fall of figures in areas, and asked if there would be a review.
Director of Planning and Partnerships Keira Sweenie said a review in a year would be "very sensible". She said: "Whatever percentage we agree today, nobody knows what the impact of the guidance will be. What is important is that we are in a better situation than before Article 4, because, at least now we have some level of control."
Commenter Morpick says: 'Sadly shades of a 'Big Brother' state that will have zero impact on the availability of affordable homes. Just takes attention away from the council and their lack of priority given to the provision of such accommodation for generations.'
BarnettFormulaSpongers replies: 'The problem is lack of jobs. On average property in North Wales is very cheap.'
Llanpeter agrees: 'I think that's the point: the problem is jobs and the income that comes with them. The rest is a consequence, whether it's housing, poverty, lack of opportunity or whatever.
SCATHINGPEN adds: 'Control of housing is control of a major asset, control of income and ultimately, control of someone's money. This argument about the housing crisis caused by holiday lets second homes is a false flag. It has been from the start. There are plenty of homes that are cheap enough to be affordable for locals, if employed.'
Truebrit thinks: 'All those houses have been sold to outsiders by locals to get a higher price for them, so who is most at fault the locals selling out their neighbours or the outsiders buying a house put up for sale on the open market? If all the houses were owned by locals how would they make a living as there's very little local employment, the hard fact is Wales needs tourism to survive.'
Indigodebz adds: 'I'd love to know how many of these second homes were built as second homes in the first place. So many wealthy Victorian and Edwardian businessmen built homes in North Wales towns and villages. Some brand new towns. Subsequent generations have developed and maintained them employing local tradespeople. We have some fabulous restaurants and retail shops that depend on wealthy visitors.'
Tomosb81 points out: 'Basic economics means that if you take an asset (a primary home) and impose a massive selling restriction on it (can only be sold as a primary home), then the value of that asset will fall. Note, that the smoke and mirrors that continue to be deployed mean that many people still think this primarily affects second home owners. Of course, as a secondary impact, all house values including second homes and holiday homes will be hit due to everyone losing confidence in the governance of Gwynedd and Eryri. But even if in the short-term that means second homes are sold for reduced prices, they will most likely just be bought by other second home owners.
"The only primary home owners who may be unaffected by this are those who never intend to leave Gwynedd/Eryri. They continue to say "we need house prices to crash". But it is incredibly selfish to everyone else who may need at some point to sell their home to move away for a multitude of reasons, or to fund care home fees, etc.'
Glueman53 complains: 'The government under-funds councils and then gives them the right to introduce a punitive tax on people's investments. They will find to their cost that second homes will inject more income into the local economy than any local resident. Affordability is nothing new, I wanted to live in London but got priced out, so I moved out.'
Do you think the Article 4 direction will free up homes for locals? Have your say in our comments section.
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Commenter Morpick says: 'Sadly shades of a 'Big Brother' state that will have zero impact on the availability of affordable homes. Just takes attention away from the council and their lack of priority given to the provision of such accommodation for generations.' BarnettFormulaSpongers replies: 'The problem is lack of jobs. On average property in North Wales is very cheap.' Llanpeter agrees: 'I think that's the point: the problem is jobs and the income that comes with them. The rest is a consequence, whether it's housing, poverty, lack of opportunity or whatever. SCATHINGPEN adds: 'Control of housing is control of a major asset, control of income and ultimately, control of someone's money. This argument about the housing crisis caused by holiday lets second homes is a false flag. It has been from the start. There are plenty of homes that are cheap enough to be affordable for locals, if employed.' Truebrit thinks: 'All those houses have been sold to outsiders by locals to get a higher price for them, so who is most at fault the locals selling out their neighbours or the outsiders buying a house put up for sale on the open market? If all the houses were owned by locals how would they make a living as there's very little local employment, the hard fact is Wales needs tourism to survive.' Indigodebz adds: 'I'd love to know how many of these second homes were built as second homes in the first place. So many wealthy Victorian and Edwardian businessmen built homes in North Wales towns and villages. Some brand new towns. Subsequent generations have developed and maintained them employing local tradespeople. We have some fabulous restaurants and retail shops that depend on wealthy visitors.' Tomosb81 points out: 'Basic economics means that if you take an asset (a primary home) and impose a massive selling restriction on it (can only be sold as a primary home), then the value of that asset will fall. Note, that the smoke and mirrors that continue to be deployed mean that many people still think this primarily affects second home owners. Of course, as a secondary impact, all house values including second homes and holiday homes will be hit due to everyone losing confidence in the governance of Gwynedd and Eryri. But even if in the short-term that means second homes are sold for reduced prices, they will most likely just be bought by other second home owners. "The only primary home owners who may be unaffected by this are those who never intend to leave Gwynedd/Eryri. They continue to say "we need house prices to crash". But it is incredibly selfish to everyone else who may need at some point to sell their home to move away for a multitude of reasons, or to fund care home fees, etc.' Glueman53 complains: 'The government under-funds councils and then gives them the right to introduce a punitive tax on people's investments. They will find to their cost that second homes will inject more income into the local economy than any local resident. Affordability is nothing new, I wanted to live in London but got priced out, so I moved out.' Do you think the Article 4 direction will free up homes for locals? Have your say in our comments section.
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13 hours ago
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Second homes and holiday lets curb slammed as a 'big brother' move
North Wales Live readers are concerned to hear that planning chiefs have stated that new restrictions on second homes and holiday lets in Eryri will grant "more control" over local housing stock. Data reveals nearly half the homes in one village are second homes. A new Article 4 Direction within the Eryri National Park as of June 1, 2025, has curtailed rights concerning the conversion of primary residences to second homes or short-term holiday lets, including certain mixed uses. This move also affects the change of use between second homes and holiday lets. Following this, the planning and access committee of Eryri National Park has endorsed proposals regarding its Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), which aims to regulate the usage of dwellings as holiday homes. The SPG establishes an annual review process to determine a threshold percentage for allowable properties, with 15% being deemed an "appropriate" limit for the number of holiday or second homes in specific locales. Across Eryri, the current rate is 17.4%, but setting a 15% cap for individual areas aligns with policy frameworks of other authorities. Statistics indicate the proportion of second homes and short-term lets across community council regions, with Aberdyfi topping the list at 45%. Cllr Elwyn Jones queried the rise and fall of figures in areas, and asked if there would be a review. Director of Planning and Partnerships Keira Sweenie said a review in a year would be "very sensible". She said: "Whatever percentage we agree today, nobody knows what the impact of the guidance will be. What is important is that we are in a better situation than before Article 4, because, at least now we have some level of control." Commenter Morpick says: 'Sadly shades of a 'Big Brother' state that will have zero impact on the availability of affordable homes. Just takes attention away from the council and their lack of priority given to the provision of such accommodation for generations.' BarnettFormulaSpongers replies: 'The problem is lack of jobs. On average property in North Wales is very cheap.' Llanpeter agrees: 'I think that's the point: the problem is jobs and the income that comes with them. The rest is a consequence, whether it's housing, poverty, lack of opportunity or whatever. SCATHINGPEN adds: 'Control of housing is control of a major asset, control of income and ultimately, control of someone's money. This argument about the housing crisis caused by holiday lets second homes is a false flag. It has been from the start. There are plenty of homes that are cheap enough to be affordable for locals, if employed.' Truebrit thinks: 'All those houses have been sold to outsiders by locals to get a higher price for them, so who is most at fault the locals selling out their neighbours or the outsiders buying a house put up for sale on the open market? If all the houses were owned by locals how would they make a living as there's very little local employment, the hard fact is Wales needs tourism to survive.' Indigodebz adds: 'I'd love to know how many of these second homes were built as second homes in the first place. So many wealthy Victorian and Edwardian businessmen built homes in North Wales towns and villages. Some brand new towns. Subsequent generations have developed and maintained them employing local tradespeople. We have some fabulous restaurants and retail shops that depend on wealthy visitors.' Tomosb81 points out: 'Basic economics means that if you take an asset (a primary home) and impose a massive selling restriction on it (can only be sold as a primary home), then the value of that asset will fall. Note, that the smoke and mirrors that continue to be deployed mean that many people still think this primarily affects second home owners. Of course, as a secondary impact, all house values including second homes and holiday homes will be hit due to everyone losing confidence in the governance of Gwynedd and Eryri. But even if in the short-term that means second homes are sold for reduced prices, they will most likely just be bought by other second home owners. "The only primary home owners who may be unaffected by this are those who never intend to leave Gwynedd/Eryri. They continue to say "we need house prices to crash". But it is incredibly selfish to everyone else who may need at some point to sell their home to move away for a multitude of reasons, or to fund care home fees, etc.' Glueman53 complains: 'The government under-funds councils and then gives them the right to introduce a punitive tax on people's investments. They will find to their cost that second homes will inject more income into the local economy than any local resident. Affordability is nothing new, I wanted to live in London but got priced out, so I moved out.'
