Anglesey: Second home demand 'pricing out' locals

People trying to buy houses in the communities they grew up in are being priced out due to a demand for second homes, campaigners claim.

Protests have been held in Llangefni, Anglesey, where people say the rush for holiday lets has seen house prices "shoot up overnight".

The council has called on the Welsh Government to intervene to make it harder for properties to be converted.

But ministers have said it is a "really complex issue".

Second homes are said to have made up 36% of house sales in Anglesey last year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Census figures from 2011 showed that 43% of homes in Rhosneigr and 34% in Trearddur Bay were empty for most of the year.

Rosemary Barry, who organised the protest, claimed more than 70% of properties were now holiday homes in some communities.

"The popularity of holiday homes means that prices are just shooting up overnight," she said.

"I know local people who've been saving hard to buy a house but end up getting outbid every time," she said.

Anglesey council has backed calls for a cap on the number of second homes in the community, and has written to the Welsh Government.

It has asked for a rule-change so planning permission is required to convert a property into a second home.

There are fears the council is missing out on about £1m a year due to second home avoiding council tax premiums by registering their homes as businesses.

The Welsh Government said it recognised the challenges second homes presented to the affordability and availability of housing in some communities.

Speaking in the Senedd recently, Welsh Language Minister Eluned Morgan said the government was determined to make it possible for people who are brought up in an area to be able to stay there.