Housing crisis: Politicians urged to sort out spiralling prices and second homes problem
There have been further calls on the Welsh Government to tackle the housing crisis in Wales with more evidence of prices spiralling out of control.
A few weeks ago nation.cymru featured a story about the price of a house in Morfa Nefyn, Pen Llyn, Gwynedd which had been put up for sale for £625,000, and was slammed as “immoral” by a councillor.
A few months ago, councillors from Nefyn met with Wales First Minster Mark Drakeford to discuss their concerns that local people were being forced to leave their communities because of prices spiralling out of control and of the threat from more and more second homes.
And yesterday, Mr Drakeford told the BBC that he recognised that it was increasingly difficult for young people to buy houses in Welsh-speaking communities and that something needed to be done.
He told S4C’s Newyddion programme: “Part of the new government’s work programme is to work with other people to try to help them and put more things in place to protect local communities where Welsh is its first language for most people.”
'Yn ôl Mabon ap Gwynfor, Aelod Seneddol Dwyfor Meirionnydd, mae angen gweithredu ar frys (ar ail dai).
"Mae rhaid i ni weld gweithredu'n digwydd rŵan," meddai.' https://t.co/5H50moG1Q7
— Mabon ap Gwynfor AS 🏴 (@mabonapgwynfor) May 15, 2021
Yesterday, Newyddion also featured a two-bedroomed cottage at Uwchmynydd, near Aberdaron, Llyn, which will be auctioned in Liverpool next month with an asking price of £500,000 and is being marketed by Beresford Adams.
Two years ago now newly-elected Dwyfor Meirionnydd Plaid Cymru MS Mabon ap Gwynfor told nation.cymru: “Environmental scientists tell us that we only have 12 or so years left to stop irreversible climate warming and the ecological disaster that would entail.
“It seems to me that we need a similar timetable to stop the erosion of our cultural and linguistic ecology before it’s too late.”
Yesterday he repeated his warning that politicians should take measures to tackle the crisis “as it is an emergency.”
Two months ago the Welsh Government received a report on second homes from academic Dr Simon Brooks, following research he undertook into the situation in Cornwall and Wales.
The report, which contains 12 recommendations in total, has been generally welcomed by the Welsh Government.
Today both Wales Online and Daily Post/North Wales Live featured stories underlining the crisis in Wales.
Wales Online property editor Joanne Rideout said : “In some of the over-heated pockets of the property market in Wales there are stories of houses being put on the market at 9am and being sold by 3pm on the same day and of buyers having to offer over the asking price just to outbid the opposition. Some houses are sold before viewings have even taken place and before buyers have even stepped over the threshold.”
And the Daily Post featured a bungalow in Rhosneigr, Anglesey with an asking price of £595,000 – down from £625,000 – said to be in “one of the most desirable locations in the village” but whose price is bigger than a flat in central London. The property is being marketed by Williams and Goodwin.
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If this was the Lake District or Dorset action would have been taken a decade ago. But the Welsh Government is so frightened of being called racist by the despicable London press that nothing will be done here. Prove me wrong Mark.
Drakeford simply has to act very soon to deal with this with legislation, not only for the people of the areas that are plagued by it but to avoid squandering the goodwill he has accrued in the last year. He can’t procrastinate any longer.
The situation is going to get worse as people realise they can keep earning their London salaries while working from home. The new senedd needs to recognise the immorality of the situation and intervene in the free housing market.