‘Second homes are killing our communities, our language and our way of life’
People born and bred in rural Wales worry about the future of their communities – but it’s far from a new problem, as Branwen Jones reports
THE debate about the benefits or otherwise of second homes in rural Wales is not a new one Back in 1973, Welsh Labour politician Ann Clwyd wrote in the Woman’s Guardian that second home owners were simultaneously killing villages in north Wales and bringing them back to life.
One village in focus was Rhyd, north of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Meirionnydd, where Ms Clwyd reported that all the villagers had left to live in a newly-built council estate two miles away, while their old village was a holiday destination for “parttime neighbours” from Liverpool, London and Oxford.
The last remaining Rhyd residents, Mr and Mrs Williams, were also leaving to be closer to others.
“We don’t want to move,” they said. “But we’re getting on and we need neighbours around us.”
Almost half a century on and the issue remains the same for many.
Last week, figures from Welsh Revenue Authority showed that the proportion of Gwynedd houses bought as second homes had risen to 40% – a further bitter blow for future home owners born and raised in towns and villages in the county where the average salary is £16,000 and nearby houses are being put on the market for £400,000.
A Gwynedd councillor now wants to see the sale of second homes to be banned until everyone in Gwynedd has a home.
Craig ab Iago, who lives in Llanllyfni, has said that the situation has left him “heartbroken and angry” and wants to see changes to help people be able to afford a house in a place they have lived all their lives.
The councillor for the Gwynedd village said: “As someone that lives in a community, with family and young children, who has just bought a house with a £20,000 deposit and was very stressful, what is happening now is an emergency.
“It’s not even about the houses anymore, it’s about the children’s future.
“For the last two years, we have seen an increase of houses being bought by people outside the community. They see Llanllyfni as a new opportunity and it’s cheaper. They are competing against us but they have more money than us.”
Recently, an estate agent based in England put a converted chapel in the Dyffryn Nantlle village on the market for £400,000 as a second house or holiday home.
According to Cllr ab Iago, 60% of
Gwynedd’s residents could not afford to buy a house in the county as a result of people buying second homes in the area, and promoting the former chapel as a temporary home was both “insensitive” and “rubbing salt on a wound”.
“If we continue to lose more than 40% of our houses, there will be no such thing as a village and its community,” the councillor added.
“I want my children to have the freedom to live where they are from, a place where they can understand their heritage and culture. It’s immoral to try and take that away from them.
“I am a Welsh learner, my father was English, I have lived in England, Scotland and now Wales. This is an issue that happens in many places, including Cornwall.
“It’s got nothing to do with nationality, it’s about my children’s future and the fact that this system isn’t working.
“This could have a long-term effect on Gwynedd, the Welsh language, our way of life, our schools and jobs, our sense of community because these houses would remain empty.
“It would also have a psychological impact on us.
“We’d lose everything, we’d feel powerless and above all else feel like we have lost control over our lives. I believe in individual responsibility, and I wouldn’t want my children living in a ‘hand-out culture’.”
The councillor is now pushing for solutions to tackle the issue, and would like to see housing plans that are already used in places across the UK to be implemented in Wales as well.
Jersey and Guernsey, for example, have their own fiscal autonomy, enabling their local governments to implement taxes on non-local occupants.
In Guernsey, residential properties are split into local market and open market.
The local market means that properties in general can be occupied by people who were born on the island, or alternatively, were not born on the island but have lived there for a number of years.
The open market means that properties can be occupied by local or non-local residents and tend to be more expensive than local market properties.
He would also like a similar law put in place in Gwynedd.
“The solution to this would be to stop the second home industry,” he explained.
“I would love a second home, wouldn’t anyone? But there shouldn’t be more second homes until everyone has a home.
“Places like Guernsey and Jersey provide a solution in which, if you are not from the islands and want to live there, you have to pay taxes. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t be brought in here in Wales – we have the means and the government to do that.”
Although frustrated about the situation, Cllr ab Iago also understood why so many flocked to to stay in the area.
He said: “I have lived across the world, but nowhere had that sense of community like here.
“I want my children to live in a close-knit community, the one we have particularly seen during Covid. It’s great here and there’s a real sense of unity.
“I completely understand why people would want to live and visit here, and I don’t think the people that actually buy second homes here are trying to undermine our way of life.
“What we have here is priceless, but we could lose it.”