Second home protesters claim rural areas face housing crisis

Rural areas are facing a housing crisis according to protestors against second home ownership in west Wales.

More than 150 campaigners gathered in Newport, Pembrokeshire, to demand action by the Welsh government.

They said second-home ownership in the county was pricing local people out of the property market.

The Welsh government said Wales is the only UK nation where local authorities have the power double council tax rates on such properties.

Protesters gathered on Parrog beach in the popular holiday town in Pembrokeshire to voice their concerns about the impact second homes have on the housing market.

They say the price of a three-bedroom house in the town is now more than £400,000, while the average property price across the county is claimed to be £227,000.

Rally organiser, Hedd Ladd-Lewis, who was raised in Newport, said the housing market was "out of control" in the area and local people had "no hope" of living in their own communities.

"Newport is a perfect example of what's happening along the whole of the west Wales coast.

"Young people don't have a chance to live in their own communities. The average house price in Newport is £350,000, so what hope do young families who want to remain in their communities have?

"Something needs to be done so everybody has a right to live in their community."

Among the speakers at the rally was 21-year-old trainee teacher Heledd Evans, from nearby Moylegrove, who said she is struggling to afford to buy her home.

"Moylegrove is completely out of the question. It's a lovely village, highly populated by second homes and holiday homes [and] I won't be able to afford a property.

"We have villages that are empty in the winter. They need to be filled with local people and making sure a percentage of houses go to local people who contribute to the community."

Residents who support second-home ownership also attended the rally but declined to comment.

Second-home owners in Pembrokeshire will pay double the normal rate of council tax from next year. This follows a decision by the Welsh government to allow local authorities to add a premium of up to 100%.

Pembrokeshire became the third area to impose the maximum increase, after Gwynedd and Swansea, saying it would use the income to build more affordable homes.

Mr Ladd-Lewis said the move was a "step in the right direction" but called for further measures.

"It won't address the main issue, which is a lack of housing for the local population. We're being pushed out," he said.

"Anybody who wants a second home should have to apply for planning permission, so we can control the percentage of second homes in any given community."

The Welsh government has also increased the higher rate of land transaction tax, which applies when people buy an additional property.

"We are also working at speed to implement sustainable solutions to what are complex issues," a spokesperson said.

"This includes a commitment to build 20,000 new, low-carbon homes for social rent over the next five years."