Social Housing

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 8 November 2022.

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Photo of Natasha Asghar Natasha Asghar Conservative 1:32, 8 November 2022

I'd like to thank my colleague, Hefin David, for raising this question. Minister, shop-level vacancies in Wales remain amongst the highest in Wales. According to the Welsh Retail Consortium, in the second quarter of this year, the vacancy rate was 16.7 per cent. In England, a package of measures has been introduced to regenerate high streets and shopping areas by introducing a new permitted development right, allowing empty shops and other commercial premises to be converted to residential use without having to go through the full planning process. In July, it was reported that Welsh Government Ministers would actively consider converting offices into accommodation if high-quality plans for doing so were actually put forward. So, Minister, could you update the Senedd on this issue and advise if it is the intention of your Government to introduce measures to speed up conversions of commercial premises to residential use, to provide more social housing, regenerate our high streets and remove the blight of empty buildings from the environment? Thank you.