Holiday Lets backlash - protest claims local being priced out

The protest movement against second homes in Wales appears to be gathering pace.

The BBC reports that over 150 campaigners have gathered in Pembrokeshire, to demand action by the Welsh government against what they claim is a glut of second homes which are indirectly pricing local people out of the property market.

Those opposed to second homes say the price of a three-bedroom house in the Pembrokeshire town of Newport is now more than £400,000, while the average property price across the county is some £227,000.

Rally organiser Hedd Ladd-Lewis told the crowd of protestors that the local housing market was "out of control" and that "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."

Wales is the only UK nation where local authorities have the power double council tax rates on such properties; Pembrokeshire is one of only three councils in Wales to take advantage of such power.

A Welsh Government spokesperson told the BBC that it had increased the higher rate of land transaction tax, which applies when people buy an additional property, and had a commitment to build 20,000 new, low-carbon homes for social rent over the next five years.

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