House prices: Rising costs see old ruin turned into home

An old ruin will be converted into a home for a woman who could not afford house prices in her area.

It sits on land owned by the family of Catrin Williams, 28, at Llangwnnadl, on the Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd.

Planning permission was recommended for refusal because it was last lived in 50 years ago, meaning it could not be legally designated as a house.

However, Gwynedd council planning committee members gave the move the green light.

Ms Williams now plans to convert it into a two-bedroom home, adding: "We are very grateful to the councillors who gave us planning permission against policy because otherwise it would be impossible for us… we would have no hope."

Locals have complained about escalating house prices in coastal areas and beauty spots - with residents outbid on one property in Gwynedd that went for more than double its £120,000 asking price.

To try and tackle the issue of people being priced out of the market, the Welsh government announced earlier this month that second home owners could be charged up to 300% normal levels of council tax.

As part of the planning consent, Ms Williams will have to sign a 106 agreement, meaning the house is classed as "affordable housing".

It means if she wanted to sell, it would be worth half the market value. 

She added: "This makes it harder for us to get a mortgage, we will have to make changes and it will be more costly. But the main thing is that we have had planning permission.

"The first step will be to clear the site and perhaps we will have to wait then to see if the  the cost of building materials will come down."