Further to the use of holiday accommodation to provide emergency/temporary accommodation, the Member of the Senedd for Aberconwy, Janet Finch-Saunders, has spoken of the urgent need for the Welsh Government to consider revoking or at least limiting the legislation which is undermining Llandudno’s Holiday Accommodation Zone.
Policy TOU/3 - Holiday Accommodation Zones, Conwy Local Development Plan 2007-2022, states: ‘Holiday Accommodation Zones are designated in Llandudno and shown on the proposals map. To safeguard an appropriate level of serviced accommodation for tourism, proposals for the redevelopment or conversion of existing serviced accommodation to other uses will not be permitted within the zones’.
Despite planning policy clearly stating that redevelopment or conversion of holiday accommodation is not to be permitted, the Welsh Government have created a loophole: their temporary change to the Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO) which enables local authorities to undertake development during the pandemic.
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2020 (2020 Order) came into force in March 2020 and inserted a new Part 12A (Emergency Development by Local Authorities) into Schedule 2 to the GPDO, permitting local authorities to undertake any form of development (as defined by section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), on land owned, leased, occupied or maintained by the local authority for the purposes of: a) preventing an emergency; b) reducing, controlling or mitigating the effects of an emergency; or c) taking other action in connection with an emergency.
Commenting on the impact of the Welsh Government’s legislative change, Janet said:
“Whilst I appreciate the exceptional circumstances which brought about the legislative change which enables hotels to change use to temporary accommodation without applying for permission, and that there is considerable demand for emergency housing, it is wrong that holiday accommodation in the heart of the sector is being lost despite the clear protection included in the Local Development Plan."
“The tourism sector is booming in Llandudno. The demand goes to prove that our local planning policy is right to protect the holiday accommodation zone, and that the Welsh Government is now wrong to continue to allow its legislation to undermine it. Circumstances have changed. The law should now change."
“What we are also seeing the 2020 Order achieve is potential unfairness to the residents of temporary accommodation because living in busy tourist areas is not necessarily conducive to the relaxed and supported location some individuals may require."
“The Local Authority has legal duties to meet including the provision of temporary accommodation where appropriate, and none of us wish to see anyone homeless, but the demand should not continue to be met through use of Welsh Government legislation which enables the undermining of the adopted Local Development Plan for the area”.
