A protest by Welsh nationalists has called for a new Property Act to be passed by the Welsh Parliament, which would stop rents being set by the free market.
The Welsh news website The National reports that the protest by Welsh language activists – which took the form of a rally in Aberystwyth – called for a guarantee from the country’s politicians that homes were made available for communities at “fair rental rates”, help for first time buyers through a joint ownership scheme, and the prioritisation of local people in the housing market.
Mabli Siriol, the chair of the Welsh Language Society, is reported to have told the rally: ”We need an effective Property Act that will take the housing and planning system out of the free market and put it under the democratic control of our communities.
“We held the rally today, on the 60th anniversary of the broadcast of Tynged yr Iaith, a lecture which inspired the founding of Cymdeithas yr Iaith [the Welsh Language Society] later that year.
“We have won several campaigns since then, thanks to the work of ordinary people, and we are confident that we will win this fight as well.”
Protestors also called for councils to make planning decisions based on the opinions of the community, to reassess historical planning permission decisions, to cap the number of second or holiday homes, and to control house prices.
Siriol continued: ”Following pressure from people from all over Wales, the government launched two consultations, one on creating a new use class and the other on the government’s Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan.
“It is vital that people respond to the consultations, and we have templates on our website that people can use. Pressure has had an effect, and today’s intention is to keep up that pressure.
The Welsh Government consultation into its Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan closes today.
In his ministerial foreword to the Plan, Jeremy Miles MS, the minister for the Welsh Language and Education stated: “Large numbers of second homes and short-term holiday accommodation have provoked strong feelings in particular communities in Wales for some years.
“In these communities, there is often a sense of injustice that people are priced out of their local housing market by those purchasing second homes or homes to let as short-term holiday accommodation. We are determined to tackle this issue.
“It is not hard to see that a pattern of young Welsh-speaking people in particular leaving their communities in order to find affordable housing elsewhere can pose a threat to the future of the language in those communities.”
