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Agenda item

Cyflwynwyd gan:Cyng. Gareth Griffith

Decision:

Resolved to:

      I.        Agree that the Environment Department, on behalf of the Council, procures and commissions research work on holiday homes for Gwynedd but with a national context, with the support of the Royal Town Planning Institute (Wales) and other relevant organisations, to include consideration of the matters referred to in part 3 of the report.

    II.        Agree that a budget of up to £80,000 from the Council’s Transformation Fund, in consultation with the Head of Finance, is provided for the work.

 

Minutes:

Presented by Cllr Gareth Griffith

 

DECISION

 

Resolved to:

      I.        Agree that the Environment Department, on behalf of the Council, was to procure and commission research work on holiday homes for Gwynedd but with a national context, with the support of the Royal Town Planning Institute (Wales) and other relevant organisations, to include consideration of the matters referred to in part 3 of the report.

    II.        Agree to provide up to £80,000 from the Council’s Transformation Fund, to be released in consultation with the Head of Finance for the work.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was presented noting that the department was making an application for £80,000 from the transformation fund in order to commission research into holiday homes in Gwynedd. It was expressed that a number of concerns had been raised concerning the number of holiday homes in the Gwynedd area, and the main concerns were noted as

¾     The local supply of houses available to meet the need

¾     The impact on the local community, the Welsh language and the services in the community

¾     The potential impact on house prices

¾     The impact on the amenities of local residents

¾     Safety standards for the properties.

 

It was expressed that the report made it clear that the Council did not have much control of the matter. It was added that there were many varying properties and an extremely high number of self-catering properties. 

 

The Assistant Head of the Environment Department added that examples of regulating holiday homes were to be seen across the world, but it was hoped that it would be possible to look at this in greater detail in the new research. It was emphasised that material evidence would be needed in order to change legislation, and that the research work could also contribute to this, but that a Wales-wide picture would be needed. It was stated that the research work would be significant and would offer options for improved management. However, it was added that to ensure this, robust evidence would be needed.

 

Observations arising from the discussion

      I.        It was noted that the number of holiday homes was a concern which had been raised over the years. It was expressed that statistics had increased over the years, and added that a number of local people took advantage of opportunities. It was added that the investigation commissioned was an attempt to establish the facts.

    II.        Support was shown towards the research, and the need was expressed for evidence and understanding of the legislations used worldwide. It was acknowledged that the field was a complex one in which there would be no clear solution.

   III.        It was added that there had been a recent increase in AirBnB properties, and so it was expressed that obtaining robust data on these properties would be useful.   It was added that AirBnB was a global company, and the need to be aware of residents' needs within communities was expressed.

  IV.        Enquiries were made regarding the time-scale, and it was noted that it would be possible to draw up a brief within the next two months. As a result, the timescale would be clearer following this.

 

Awdur:Gareth Jones

Supporting documents: