News
Cabinet tackles second homes problem
ON MONDAY, February 15, Cabinet members agreed to publish an affordable homes strategy for Pembrokeshire.
In November last year, Councillor David Lloyd submitted a notice of motion in November 2020, calling for the strategy to be developed as a matter of urgency.
In his supporting statement, Cllr Lloyd said that he had seen many streets in St Davids ‘hollowed out by local homes becoming second homes or holiday lets’.
Councils along the whole of the West Wales coast, stretching from Carmarthenshire to Anglesey, have expressed concern at spiralling house prices, as incomers buy-up properties and price locals out of the housing market.
At the end of the first lockdown in 2020, we spoke with Solva county councillor Mark Carter. He told us that one property in Solva went on the market on Thursday and was sold for significantly over the asking price by the following Monday morning. Local estate agents are reporting similar sales patterns around Wales’ west coast.
Urban flight from England, driven by the Covid pandemic and coastal Wales’ relative safety, is a factor in ratcheting up house prices.
Gwynedd estimated that almost 11% of local housing stock are second homes or used for occasional holiday lets. In Abersoch, one former council house was on the market for £380,000. The average wage in the area is £21,000 per year. The wage most people earn is under £16,000 per year.
In Ceredigion, New Quay’s permanent population has crashed as locals have been forced out of the local housing market by outsiders buying up properties as holiday lets and second homes.
In Carmarthenshire, 1,118 homes are not the owner’s sole or main dwelling – up to 40% in some areas. The effect there was to drive young people out of the market, splinter families, and break-up communities.
Pressure on the Welsh Government to act is now coming from every one of Wales’ west-coast councils.
On January 21, Carmarthenshire County Council passed a wide-ranging motion on the issue.
The motion called for a change in planning laws to ensure that planning permission must be sought to change the use of a primary dwelling into a second home/holiday accommodation.
It also called for local authorities to have the ability to set a cap on the number of second homes in each ward and allow the use of Section 106 (planning) agreements to prevent new properties from being used as second homes in wards with an unacceptable proportion of second homes.
One element of the motion passed in Carmarthenshire is particularly relevant to Pembrokeshire. Carmarthenshire Council approved the introduction of a licensing system for managing the conversion of a residential property into a commercial unit such as a holiday unit/house or Airbnb.
The Camarthenshire motion called for the closure of the ‘loophole’ that allows second homes to register as businesses. If owners do that, they opt out of paying domestic rates and council tax premiums and take advantage of business rate relief.
When pressed on the issue on February 3, Housing Minister Julie James told the Senedd she wouldn’t describe that situation as a loophole.
However, Ms James disclosed the Welsh Government was considering a range of measures to thwart those registering their second homes as a business. Among the measures it is considering is doubling (at least) the number of nights for which a property is let to permit its owners to register it as a business.
The Minister added that Swansea was actively considering imposing the maximum 200% Council Tax premium. She added that work was ongoing to prevent the sale for use as second homes or holiday lets of properties built with the benefit of public funding support.
Speaking at Cabinet on Monday, February 15, David Lloyd said he was greatly encouraged that work was already underway looking at this issue.
“If we are to protect our communities and keep them cohesive, we have got to take radical action”, Cllr Lloyd added.
Cabinet member for Housing, Cllr Michelle Bateman, said that the situation had been brought into sharper focus since November and that they had seen the impact that covid-19 has had on house prices.
She added that work is ongoing but added that it was good to have it out in public’.
Cllr Jon Harvey said it was essential in the context of many areas in Pembrokeshire and said, setting up a task and finish group would be a ‘good move’.
He added that there was also an opportunity to lobby the Welsh Government over the use-classes order whereby houses could be listed as a primary or secondary residence.
Finance cabinet member Cllr Bob Kilmister added that there was a possibility of increasing second homes council tax which could bring extra support.
“We do have a major crisis for people in the coastal communities, and it is incumbent on us to find a way around this”, he said. “Housing is the most important issue there is in many respects because if you haven’t got a decent home, you haven’t got a start in life.”
Cllr Cris Tomos highlighted that a speaker at the last council meeting had said how concerned they were that rural and coastal communities were seeing more and more second homes.
He added: “The whole composition of communities is changing as less and less local people have houses, so then the whole resilience and composition of communities are changing. So we must have houses for local people so communities can thrive.”
The Cabinet unanimously supported the strategy.
The Leader, Cllr David Simpson, added that Cllr Lloyd could see that Cabinet was fully behind what he is trying to do and said they would move forward in a way that would benefit all of Pembrokeshire.
Cllr Lloyd concluded that the ongoing work confirmed the talent the council has got to deliver this project.
The Cabinet hopes the strategy will be ready for publication by September 2021.
Crime
Cocaine dealers jailed after flooding Aberystwyth streets with drugs
TWO men who supplied cocaine in Aberystwyth have been jailed after police seized large amounts of cash, drugs and weapons during coordinated raids.
Luke Hutton, aged 25, and Lee Mark Walsh, 37, were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after admitting possession of cocaine with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.
The court heard that police attended Walsh’s flat in Aberystwyth on Thursday (Nov 14) to execute a search warrant. Officers saw several people outside the address, including both defendants. When police approached, Walsh remained at the property while Hutton attempted to flee but was quickly detained.
Walsh, of Yr Hafan, Aberystwyth, was found with cannabis, £160 in cash and a mobile phone. Hutton, of Corporation Street, Aberystwyth, was carrying £8,795 in cash and a phone.
During a strip search in custody, officers recovered a wrap of white powder concealed on Hutton. Further searches uncovered £850 in cash laid out on Walsh’s bed, five mobile phones, a silver knuckleduster and a large kitchen knife hidden beneath the bed.
Police also recovered scales with white powder residue, a bank card contaminated with drug traces, and a further bag of white powder elsewhere in the flat. At Hutton’s address, officers found £1,060 in cash, bicarbonate of soda and empty snap-seal bags, consistent with drug preparation.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling told the court both men were clearly involved in drug supply for financial gain.
Walsh also admitted possession of an offensive weapon and possession of cannabis. He has previous convictions for cannabis offences and failing to comply with a drugs test.
Hutton has a longer record, including offences involving communications, driving matters, domestic abuse and breaching a restraining order.
Mitigating for Walsh, Ryan Bowen said the defendant had experienced a troubled childhood, moving schools frequently, and had struggled with cannabis use from a young age. He said Walsh had shown a strong work ethic and hoped to pursue barbering on release.
Jon Tarrant, representing Hutton, said his client had been heavily addicted to cocaine and that drug use had dominated his life, contributing to the breakdown of relationships, including contact with his two young children.
Sentencing, Judge Vanessa Francis said both men had been involved in dealing with the expectation of making “significant financial gain”.
Addressing Hutton, she said: “You told the author of the pre-sentence report that when your benefits stopped, you ‘did what you had to do’. This court will do what it has to do to take off the streets those who spread the misery of drug supply.”
After reductions for guilty pleas, Hutton was jailed for three years and Walsh for 32 months. Both will serve up to half of their sentences in custody before being released on licence.
Community
Crowds line streets as tractor run hailed a festive success
CROWDS lined streets and pavements across Pembrokeshire on Saturday evening (Dec 20) as Clarbeston Road AFC’s illuminated Christmas tractor run was hailed a resounding success.
More than 200 tractors took part in the event, travelling through villages and towns including Newmoat, Maenclochog, Llys-y-frân, Walton East, Clarbeston Road, Wiston, Newbridge, Poyston Cross, Crundale and Haverfordwest, where large crowds gathered to watch the festive convoy pass through.
Families, children and residents wrapped up against the cold to enjoy the sight of tractors decorated with Christmas lights and festive displays, with applause and waves greeting drivers as they made their way through built-up areas and rural roads alike.
The convoy set off from the Clarbeston Road AFC Knock Playing Fields at 5:30pm and concluded at the County Showground in Haverfordwest later in the evening. At the end of the run, refreshments were available and the raffle draw took place at the Park House building, which was open to the public.
Organisers said the turnout from both drivers and spectators exceeded expectations, with the event once again bringing communities together while raising funds for local causes, including The Catrin Vaughan Foundation, In It With Isaac, and Wales Air Ambulance.
Clarbeston Road AFC thanked tractor drivers, volunteers, sponsors and members of the public for their support, as well as residents and road users for their patience while the convoy passed through.
The illuminated tractor run has become a firm fixture in the local festive calendar, with Friday night’s event described by many spectators as one of the best yet.

Community
Charity tractor and car run set to raise funds for Macmillan and Paul Sartori
A CHARITY tractor and car run in memory of Charles Rees is set to take place in Pembrokeshire later this month, with funds raised supporting Macmillan Cancer Support and Paul Sartori Hospice at Home.
The Charles Rees Tractor & Car Run will be held on Sunday, December 28, 2025, starting and finishing at Dudwell Farm in Camrose.
Participants are being invited to “start their engines” in aid of the two charities, with gates opening at 9:00am and the convoy leaving promptly at 10:30am. Organisers have confirmed that the run will operate with no halfway stops, returning to Dudwell Farm at the end of the route.
The event will begin and finish at Dudwell Farm, Camrose (SA62 6HJ), and is open to tractors and cars. Registration and cash payment will take place on the day, with the price to be confirmed nearer the event.
Additional donations can also be made locally in the run-up to the event at Camrose Country Hardware and Croesgoch Stores.
The run has been organised to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, which provides vital care and assistance to people living with cancer, and Paul Sartori Hospice at Home, which supports patients and families across Pembrokeshire during some of the most difficult times of their lives.
Organisers say more information will be released closer to the event and are encouraging the local community to support the run, whether by taking part, donating, or lining the route to show support.
The event is expected to attract strong local interest, continuing Pembrokeshire’s tradition of community-led fundraising in support of much-valued charities.

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