The introduction of the Article 4 Direction gives Gwynedd Council “a new tool to try to control the impact of second homes and holiday accommodation”.
Cllor Dafydd Meurig, Cabinet Member for the Environment, made the comment following Cabinet’s decision on Tuesday, 16 July, to accept a recommendation that Article 4 Direction should be implemented.
This enables the council as the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority to require property owners to obtain planning permission before changing the use of a main home into a second home or short-term holiday accommodation.
The change will come into effect from 1 September 2024.
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The council held a public engagement period on the introduction of the Article 4 Direction during August and September 2023, and said all comments submitted received careful consideration.
The comments and the council's response were taken into account at a Scrutiny Committee meeting in May, where members supported the work that has been carried out on the process and a recommendation was made for Cabinet to confirm the Article 4 Direction.
Cllr Dafydd Meurig said: "Cyngor Gwynedd wants to ensure local people able to access suitable and affordable housing locally – that is key to securing the future of our communities.
"Unfortunately, research shows that a significant proportion of people in Gwynedd are priced out of the housing market and that is more evident in communities with higher numbers of holiday homes.
"It is therefore inevitable that the significant number of houses being used as second homes and short-term holiday accommodation is affecting the ability of the people of Gwynedd to access homes in their communities.
"By introducing an Article 4 Direction, the council will have a new tool to try to control the impact of second homes and holiday accommodation. The change will require owners to submit a planning application for changing the use of residential properties into second homes or short-term holiday accommodation.
"Following this decision, Gwynedd will become the first Planning Authority to use these new planning powers introduced by the Government.
"Detailed work has been carried out over the past year to set out the case for the change to be made and we are very grateful to everyone who took part during the public engagement period.”
The change does not apply to properties already established as second homes or short-term holiday accommodation before this comes into force.
For more information on Article 4 Direction, visit: www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/Article4