Holiday homes: Anglesey and Gwynedd see use jump

Anglesey and neighbouring Gwynedd saw the highest proportions of holiday home users

Anglesey has seen the biggest jump in holiday home users in England and Wales over the past 10 years, according to new figures.

Neighbouring Gwynedd had the second highest proportion of holiday homes of any county.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were 4,375 holiday home users on Anglesey.

Both Anglesey and Gwynedd have seen resident populations fall since the last Census in 2011.

They dropped 1.2% and 3.7% respectively, but both counties have seen rises in holiday home users.

The figures come a week after a senior Gwynedd councillor called second homes "immoral" during a "huge housing crisis".

Anglesey has 63.3 people using a second address as a holiday home per 1,000 usual residents, an increase from 41.5 in 2011 with Cheshire is the most common area where they come from.

For every 1,000 residents in Gwynedd, 79 people from other areas used a holiday home there, up from 63.9 per 1,000 in 2011.

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There have been rises too in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Nearly two-thirds of second home users in Pembrokeshire were from Wales and the county is the most popular second home destination for people in Wales.

Gwynedd has 41 holiday homes per 1,000 homes, second only to South Hams in Devon (44.1 per 1,000) while Anglesey has 32.9.

More than three-quarters of people who used second homes in Gwynedd and Anglesey were from the north-west of England and West Midlands.

ONS has produced heat maps allowing people to see where holiday home users come from across the UK.

More than 10,000 second addresses in Wales were used as holiday homes in 2021.

Salcombe, Malborough and Thurlestone in South Hams, Devon, had the highest concentration - 171.9 holiday homes for every 1,000 homes.

This was followed by Abersoch and Aberdaron in Gwynedd with 153.3 per 1,000.

What do other figures tell us?

About 20% of all second homes in Wales are in Gwynedd, according to the latest Welsh government housing figures.

The county has the highest proportion of second homes in Wales - 4,750 properties or 8.3% of the total - and are subject to a 150% council tax premium.

As a whole, 1.7% of homes in Wales are second homes. Pembrokeshire and Anglesey (both 6.5%) are second after Gwynedd.

What has been the response?

Plaid Cymru, said thanks to its cooperation agreement with Welsh government, said it had already been able to take action on second homes and holiday lets.

Party housing spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor said: "In Wales, we've been able to introduce new property classes, increase the maximum level of council tax that local authorities can charge second home owners, and made changes to national planning policy to enable local authorities to better manage the number of second homes in their area."

But Conservative housing spokeswoman Janet Finch-Saunders said at the heart of the debate was frustration that locals were struggling to get on the property ladder, although penalising second home owners was not working.

"The Welsh government should work with local planning authorities to see land in communities such as in Anglesey and Gwynedd allocated for affordable and social housing," she added.

The Welsh government said: "We believe that everybody has a right to a decent, affordable home to buy or to rent in their own communities so they can live and work locally.

"We are taking radical action using the planning, property and taxation systems to achieve this, as part of a joined-up package of solutions."