Anglesey set to suspend Right to Buy council homes

Anglesey is set to become the latest Welsh local authority to stop tenants buying their own council houses.

The authority's leadership has backed a move to ask the Welsh Government to suspend the right for five years.

Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Flintshire councils have already been granted the power to halt sales.

The council said it would also invest in a new house building programme on the island, aiming to provide 500 new homes over the next 30 years.

According to officials, nearly half the authority's housing stock has been sold off since Right to Buy rules were introduced in the 1980s.

In total, 3,122 properties have been sold to tenants, leaving the island's council-owned housing stock at 3,784 homes.

'In short supply'

In a report to the council executive on Monday, officials warned that "the current supply of affordable homes on the island is insufficient to meet the need".

In March, there were 900 names on the waiting list for homes on Anglesey - but only about 260 council properties become available to rent annually.

"Every property sold by the county council through its 'Right to Buy' scheme reduces our ability to provide affordable social housing to meet local need," said Shan Lloyd Williams, the council's head of housing services.

The council will now formally ask the Welsh Government to allow it to suspend the Right to Buy rules on the island.

Speaking on Monday, Aled Morris Jones, the council's executive member for housing, said: "Our aim is to increase the number of affordable rented properties on the island.

"A suspension would certainly help us meet the growing demand for affordable rented housing and bolster our housing stock on Anglesey."