‘Planning rules described as ‘bonkers’ are stopping me building my own home’
Nia Ferris has fallen foul of affordable housing rules that have put up several hurdles to her staying in her community. Gareth Wyn Williams reports
AHEADTEACHER has effectively stopped building her own home because she is considered too wealthy to live in it.
Nia Ferris has fallen victim to planning rules around affordable housing that even members of the council itself have branded “bonkers”.
And an investigation by our sister paper, the Daily Post, has found she is not the only person who is facing having to uproot from their community because of rules that are meant to ensure locals are not priced out of their own towns and villages.
For the past two years Ms Ferris has been trying to build a home for herself and her partner Dylan.
Along with her sister and her partner, they obtained planning permission to build two houses on land donated by their family in Llanengan, just outside Abersoch.
The average price of a house in the village is around £447,000.
Planners recommended their bid was rejected, but councillors ruled in their favour, saying the council’s rules were “not fit for purpose”.
But Ms Ferris’ woes didn’t end there, as she faces two obstacles which will probably mean she will never be able to realise the dream of building her own home.
The 33-year-old was recently appointed headteacher of a local primary school, and because her pay increased above £45,000, she was no longer considered eligible for an affordable home – even if she is building it herself.
On top of that, if she were to build it, she would be unlikely to get a mortgage on it because of how much the council says it would be worth, and the legal agreements she’d have to enter into if it were classified as an affordable home.
A valuer appointed by Gwynedd council has judged that the three-bedroom houses would have a likely value of £370,000 if put on the open market – more than the £325,000 valuation initially obtained by the applicants.
As a result, Clause 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 means that both houses would have to be sold at a substantial discount of 60% if sold in the future, in order to meet the £142,000 upper limit for an affordable home.
She says: “If we sold the house it would have to be for a 60% discount, which doesn’t worry us that much as we don’t plan to sell, but it makes it very difficult to get a mortgage. We don’t want to have to move from the area nor see the effect on the village, it’s right next door to Abersoch.
Feeling that “several hurdles” have been thrown in their path, she says that the conditions implemented were “impossible” for them to meet.
“We’ve already lost Abersoch, there aren’t many local or Welshspeaking people left living there and it would be very sad to see the same thing happen in Llanengan.
“The average open market houses in and around the village are well out of our reach and isn’t an option.
“If we are unable to negotiate and find a way out of this then we have no option but to move out of the village and possibly lose our jobs.”
During 2017/18, 39% of houses sold in Gwynedd and 36% on Anglesey were either holiday homes or “buy to lets,” highlighting long-standing complaints that house prices in some parts of north west Wales are well beyond the reach of most locals.
Such second homes, often owned by people from outside of Wales, are also claimed to be having a direct impact on the Welsh language and the long-term viability of such communities.
But while such factors mean that buying a house is almost a pipe dream for some, building one is proving to be just as difficult for others.
According to Gwynedd council, securing affordable housing for locals is one of their top priorities, but that section 106 agreements were used to ensure that such new builds continue to be affordable in future.
But local councillor John Brynmor Hughes, who represents Llanengan on Gwynedd council, is calling for current policy to be drastically altered “before it’s too late.”
“It seems to me that the by-product of the policy is to drive everyone to the towns,” he says, adding that the future for many youngsters was “bleak” unless they were allowed to build on their own land.
“This was once an issue in some parts of Llyn, but it’s becoming worse, you can buy a house in Nefyn for the same price as a beach hut in Abersoch. But here, where we have local Welsh-speaking couples who want to remain in the village and have the land and expertise to build a house of their own, all these barriers are being thrown in their path.
“I understand the need for section 106 agreements, but in my view, some of the current guidelines and how they’re interpreted are bonkers and it makes me quite angry.”
Backing the couples in their plight, local MP Liz Saville Roberts had urged planners to approve their bid, adding: “If these local people – who have the financial means and the skills to build two houses for themselves – are not worthy of affordable housing in accordance with Gwynedd’s policy, there is something wrong with the interpretation of the policy.”
It’s estimated that across the west Wales counties of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, the past decade has seen 117,000 young people between 15 and 29 being lost to their respective communities.
Nefyn Town Council recently passed a motion stating concern that existing planning policy was not being based on the requirements of individual communities, urging the Welsh Government and local councils to take action while describing current guidelines as “too weak to protect fragile communities.”
Such a move, resulting in Welsh planning guidelines being amended to allow communities to set their own policies, has already been implemented elsewhere in the British isles.
In England, under powers provided by the Localism Act 2011, neighbourhood forums and parish councils can establish their own general planning policies for the development and use of land in their areas.
One example has seen St Ives in Cornwall, where around a quarter of all homes are second homes, hold a referendum and passed to establish its own Neighbourhood Development Plan.
Now implemented, and despite reports of mixed results, it requires that any new open-market homes have to be for permanent residents as their principal residence with owners having to provide proof of this.
Another couple who have faced their own problems in building a house of their own is Hanna Elin Baguley and her husband, Ben, who live on Anglesey, which shares a Local Development Plan and Planning Policy Unit with Gwynedd.
But Hanna, a mother of two who grew up in the village of Llanddona and sits on the local community council, is on the verge of moving five miles away to Pentraeth after being frustrated in their efforts to build a house on land owned by her family.
Despite being supported by her local elected members and Llanddona Community Council and being backed by Tai Teg, their proposals were turned down by planning officers due to being located outside the village’s development boundary.
Now planning a move five miles away to Pentraeth, where her children now attend school after the closure of the village primary a few years ago, Hanna believes they have no other option.
“Living in Llanddona, we get to raise my children how I was raised and thought this would be the best place for them to grow up,” she said.
“But we couldn’t afford to buy, when we looked the cheapest house in the village cost £240,000, which was way out of reach.
“Having also looked at the rental sector, our only option left was a selfbuild affordable home.
“To do so we needed a plot of land, and the cheapest in the village was £100,000 at the time, which again was way out of our reach. Having also explored exception sites, my parents kindly offered us a portion of land between my parents and grandparents homes to build, only to be told that we couldn’t get planning.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said that the issues referred to were matters for the local authorities to address.
In relation to the Llanengan planning application, a Gwynedd council spokesman said: “This policy has worked very successfully to ensure affordable housing of a suitable size and on appropriate sites for residents of the county that are eligible for affordable housing.
“As a Local Authority, we would note that the site in question is in a rural area and is on the edge of Llanengan’s cluster of houses.
“Neither the size of the house or its market value (or the price with a discount of less than 60%) would ensure that the house would be affordable or respond to the imbalance within the local housing market.
“The council recognises the applicants’ desire to build and to live in these houses, but allowing two houses on this site without a 106 Agreement would be equivalent to allowing two open market houses with no control over price nor certainty that the houses would be affordable in the future.”
“The applicants have been assessed by Tai Teg and one couple did not qualify for an affordable home. Tai Teg assesses applicants for affordable housing on behalf of the Council against recognised criteria.
“To date the applicant has not signed a relevant 106 Agreement which means that the planning permission has not been issued.”
Anglesey council has also been approached for a comment.