Editor

Tourism is a vital component in the Gwynedd economy. According to council figures it generates £8,000 for every man, woman and child in the county and provides more employment than any other sector apart from, ironically, the local authority itself.

It is not too much of a stretch to describe it as our premier industry. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a crisis in this industry that threatens therefore not just individual businesses but the wealth and security of the entire community. It is thus deeply disappointing that Gwynedd Council has chosen this moment to pursue an ideological agenda built around the narrative that ‘second home owners’ are exploiting a ‘loophole’ to avoid paying council tax.

As chairman of the Barmouth Publicity Association I have been contacted by members deeply concerned that the council was withholding payment of the Covid-19 Business Rate Relief Grant on the grounds that they are seeking ‘guidance on the required usage of self-catering holiday accommodation for commercial purposes to ensure it qualifies as a business and therefore to qualify for the grants’. This is a disgraceful and purely political ploy and at this time of crisis should have no place in a responsible administration.

The holiday accommodation sector which generates nearly £1 billion depends heavily on self-catering holiday lets due to a severe shortage of serviced accommodation. They provide employment to local people as well as putting money directly into the pockets of local businesses, through the visitors they attract. The vast majority of these holiday lets are privately owned and a significant proportion are owned by Gwynedd residents for whom they provide much-needed income. Most were happy to pay council tax until Gwynedd Council imposed a 50 per cent council tax surcharge on ‘second homes’, thereby raising the running costs of such premises significantly. It is not surprising therefore that those owners whose properties were not their holiday homes but intended as holiday lets chose to register their properties as businesses.

In order to qualify for this status a holiday let owner must prove that their property has been offered for let for a minimum of six months and that it has actually been let for a minimum of 10 weeks. It is not possible therefore to register a ‘second home’ as a business unless it is actually being let as a business, thus there is no ‘loophole’ that can be exploited. The only ‘exploitation’ that could occur would be if owners subsequently ceased to let their property commercially and it is the council’s responsibility to ensure that all properties claiming commercial rates relief are still being used commercially.

My members tell me that not once in the last seven years has Gwynedd Council checked they are still complying with the minimum letting requirement.

Given that properties cannot claim Business Rates Relief unless they can demonstrate that they are trading as a business it is outrageous that these businesses were having their Covid-19 grants withheld. For many of these owners the holiday let is their sole source of income, an income which has simply disappeared.

If there are a tiny number of properties that are illegally declaring themselves to be businesses when they are simply second homes they should be exposed and prosecuted. But to delay or even deny Covid-19 grants because the council has failed to police these properties adequately threatens the wealth and prosperity of every citizen of Gwynedd. Tourism is our lifeblood. Holiday lets are the backbone of that trade. It is time for this narrative against ‘second home owners’ to stop.

David Brown Chairman, Barmouth Publicity Association

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