Concerns raised over effect of self-catering properties on towns
The issue of second homes and self-catering accommodation in Llangollen has been raised in the Welsh Parliament by local member Ken Skates.
He says that there has to be a balance between driving the visitor economy and ensuring that towns and villages remain alive for local people throughout the year.
The Welsh Government has legislated to increase the number of days within any 12-month period that a self-catering property is required to be made available to let from 140 to 252 days, and actually let from 70 to 182 days.
Councils will also be given powers to charge a second home premium of up to 300 per cent from April 2023.
There have been fears this will see some self catering accommodation close, unable to afford the extra tax.
Mr Skates said: “Tourism is vitally important to the Welsh economy. But, of course, with the rapid rise in self-catering units, there is a risk that some towns and villages will cater more to visitors than to residents.
“This is something that’s been raised with me by concerned residents in Llangollen on numerous occasions, when parts of the town – as many as one in five properties – are now advertised as Airbnb self-catering units.
"We have to ensure that towns and villages across Wales are alive and active 12 months of the year. I hope the Welsh Government measures will lead to a careful balance between our interest in driving the visitor economy and the need to ensure that towns and villages are living towns and villages."
Minister for finance and local government, Rebecca Evans, said: "We are addressing the impact that large numbers of second homes and holiday lets can have on some communities in Wales, exactly that which Ken Skates has described. That’s creating sustainable communities where people can live year-round and where, in winter, you don’t go into those villages and find that the lights are off in the majority of those properties.
“We know that in Newport, Pembrokeshire, for example, or in Abersoch, 40 per cent of properties there are second homes and holiday lets, and that’s just not a balanced community.
"We absolutely recognise the importance of tourism, but I think that we also need to recognise that sustainable communities are important, and giving those opportunities to people to live in the communities within which they grew up and where they want to work and make a life for themselves."
