13. Plaid Cymru Debate: Second Homes

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:30 pm on 23 September 2020.

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Photo of Neil McEvoy Neil McEvoy Independent 6:30, 23 September 2020

Diolch, Llywydd. I've introduced a simple amendment today, stating that, where necessary, compulsory purchase should be used by local authorities to meet the needs of social housing. I've advocated compulsory purchase for some time. I've also long advocated a simple concept for housing, which is local housing based on local need. It's a position that the Labour Party just does not understand. They prefer to build expensive housing beyond the means of local people on greenfield sites—in Cardiff, on greenfield sites they said they would protect.

But I can't say that Plaid Cymru are doing much better. Gwynedd is being ravaged. As we've heard from the Plaid Cymru person moving the motion, it's being ravaged by second-home ownership, and yet the local development plan in Plaid-run Gwynedd enables family homes to be converted into holiday accommodation. Now, they didn't need to do that, but they did. 

So, there's a shortage of homes for people to buy locally, and there's a problem with affordability, and yet Plaid Cymru, the movers of this motion, in power in Gwynedd, decide to make the problem worse. Now, the leader of Plaid is shaking his head—maybe have a word with your group in Gwynedd and get them to change the local development plan. Because that is what the Welsh National Party is campaigning to do: change the development plan in Gwynedd.