Gwynedd holiday home owners facing council tax being doubled next year

Holiday home owners in Gwynedd are set to have their council tax doubled from next year.

The council is forging ahead with its plans to hike the tax in the face of opposition.

Second home owners already face 50% premiums - it will rise to 100% once the plan approved at full council.

The recommendations were backed after a public consultation showed 55.1% of respondents believed second homes brought "positive benefits."

But 58.6% of those answering the survey were holiday home owners, while most locals were against second homes the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Gwynedd council cabinet leadership concluded the consultation was "not a referendum" and said it would increase the premium to the maximum allowed by the Welsh Government.

Since 2018, a 50% premium has been slapped on council tax bills of owners of second and long-term empty homes in Gwynedd.

The extra cash has formed the backbone of a £77m scheme to build more properties and clear a rising social housing waiting list.

Gwynedd has more holiday homes than anywhere else in Wales with 6,849 or 10.77% of the county's entire housing stock now being designated as second homes.

Council figures suggest 60% of locals are priced out of the housing market.

The authority's housing member, Craig ab Iago, said at a council meeting on Tuesday: "The situation is getting worse, with Brexit and Covid and now the 'Zoom boom', with people realising they don't need to live in a city, and Brexit making it harder for people to own second homes in France or Spain."

He said it was about creating a situation that was "fair for all".

"Every pound generated from the premium has been earmarked for the housing action plan, designed to provide homes for the people of Gwynedd," Mr ab Iago said.

The council has also approved a report requesting approval to borrow £15.4 million to buy about 100 houses to let for an affordable rent.

It wants to provide more homeless accommodation, build more social housing and bring empty homes back into use.