Thank you, acting Presiding Officer.

For my short debate, I want to consider the problems caused by land banking. I will explore how the Welsh Government’s proposals for a vacant land tax could tackle these, and I will use examples from my constituency to illustrate what may seem like elevated principles of land ownership and finance. I'll also be giving a minute of my time to David Melding.

What is land banking? One definition of land banking is the practice of buying land as an investment, holding it for future use and making no specific plans for its development. The Cambridge Dictionary suggests the motivation behind this. Its definition describes land banking as a way of making a profit by buying land. It is then sold at a much higher price for development. A leading property development website notes that land banking is a

'strategy used by many professional property developers'.

Sites are banked so developers ensure

'they have a sufficient stock of land for future property developments'.

Stockpiling land in this way

'has helped many developers make big profits in a rising market'.

On a smaller scale, brownfield sites and buildings in a dilapidated condition are held by other developers for the same purpose of speculative profit. 

Land banking can indeed be profitable to those individuals and companies who can afford it, but its wider impact on society is negative in the extreme. For a start, there is the basic principle of land that could be used for beneficial purposes being hoarded. For example, housing. We've had many well-rehearsed debates in this Assembly on the housing shortages we face as a nation. We know we may need as many as 12,000 new homes each year. The Welsh Government has allocated £1.3 billion over this Assembly term to support the delivery of 20,000 affordable homes. Social housing is increasing, although nowhere near fast enough to address demand, and land that is being banked is land that is not being used to meet this need. 

The Welsh Government has suggested that 25 per cent of land identified in LDPs for housing actually has no activity taking place on it. The WLGA notes that nearly 11,000 homes across Wales that have been given planning permission are not being built. Figures from the Office of Fair Trading suggest that 82 per cent of land held by developers lacks planning permission. These are staggering figures, but, moreover, ones with very human consequences, in terms of people living in inadequate or unsuitable housing, or even lacking a home altogether. 

Land banking can also prevent land being used for economic development, or for our public services, or for leisure and recreational opportunities. In addition, we must recognise the impact on the lives of those living alongside land banked areas. This is particularly the case where we are referring to derelict brownfield sites that can be in a truly abysmal condition.

I hosted an event for the Land Trust recently, and they explored some of the effects on a community of living next to these derelict urban sites where the owner simply cannot be bothered. Living next to a derelict site can affect well-being. It can cause mental and physical ill health. It can stimulate anti-social activities and nurture problem behaviour. In addition to being an eyesore, it can, at its most dramatic, fuel community break down.

I have seen the impact of land banking first-hand in parts of the Cynon Valley, the constituency I grew up in and now represent. I would like to quote one of my constituents, living next to such a site:

'After 11 years of hell from a land owner next to my property I am horrified to discover that there is no protection for those who have to endure endless problems that affect quality of life, health, damage to property and the effect on the value of surrounding properties.'

To highlight the point I am making, I would now like to show a brief film containing footage of four such sites in my constituency.