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:
- Item 10 - Report - Holiday Homes and Planning, item 10. PDF 260 KB
- Item 10 - Appendix - Gwynedd Accommodation Survey 2011-19, item 10. PDF 356 KB