3. What is the Welsh Government doing to support the housing needs of the people of Pembrokeshire? OAQ(5)0566(FM)

We are making a significant investment in all types of housing tenures in Pembrokeshire and across Wales. This includes continued investment in social housing and Help to Buy—Wales, as well as through new schemes aiming to make home ownership more accessible and support innovation.

Thank you for that response, First Minister. I recently met representatives of Cohousing Hafan Las to discuss proposals for a cohousing community in Pembrokeshire. That would mean providing affordable housing for local people, with at least a third of the residents over 50 years of age in order to bridge between the generations. Would you agree with me, therefore, that we should be encouraging projects of this sort, and, if so, can you tell me what support the Welsh Government is providing to projects such as this one?

Of course, it would be interesting if Hafan Las officials could meet our officials to understand better the model that they have, and I’m sure, should they want to do that, we would welcome a meeting.

The problem of second homes and holiday homes is a particular problem in Pembrokeshire, as it is in a number of areas that are popular with visitors and tourists and people who are looking to retire to those areas. And, of course, it overheats the local housing market in terms of the incomes available to local people, particularly young people. There are whole streets in Tenby where nobody is living for most of the year, for example. What can the Government do to assist in that context? Plaid Cymru has proposed that planning regulations could be used in certain communities in order to ensure that there is a change of use when a home leaves permanent occupation and becomes a holiday home. Isn’t that deserving of consideration by Government?

This is something that has been discussed and considered previously, but it is much more difficult in practice than in principle as regards what kind of definition you place on a second home. But, having said that, I understand exactly what the Member is saying about the impact on communities, and we’ve ensured that there’s more social housing available and ended the right to buy; other considerations have been made, such as land trusts to help people buy their own homes and also sharing of property equity. One thing that may have to be looked at in future is how the Government could purchase houses from the private market so that houses are available, particularly in villages where it is very difficult to create social housing. So, there are a number of ways in which we can secure a future for those people who wish to live and remain in those communities, but perhaps we need to think more imaginatively than the traditional ways of thinking to date.