‘We converted empty house with second homes cash and it made all the difference with a baby on the way’
A Gwynedd man has described how a council grant enabled him to convert an empty property so he could stay in the area where he and his partner were raised. Gethin Jones shared his experiences as Cyngor Gwynedd announced it was offering an extra £5,000 to people who want to follow in his footsteps.
Gethin was a beneficiary of a scheme designed to help ease the county’s housing crisis. He bought a home in Chwilog, near Pwllheli, that had been empty for over a year and required major improvements.
“We are looking forward to settling down in our home and start a new chapter as a family with a baby on the way,” he said. “We both grew up close to Chwilog and it means a lot to us to be able to stay close to our families and raise our child in an area we know and love.’’
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Cyngor Gwynedd is expanding its Empty Homes Grants Scheme to help more local residents turn empty properties into liveable homes. Thousand of dwellings are unoccupied in Gwynedd: based on population size, the county is considered the “empty property capital of the UK”, with 6,204 vacant dwellings
Almost 170 residents across Gwynedd have already benefitted from the local authority’s grant scheme, launched in 2021. It’s funded by the council's Council Tax premium on second homes, which in Gwynedd now stands at 150%, or 2.5 times what residents pay.
Previously the maximum grant was £15,000 but this has now been increased to £20,000. Cyngor Gwynedd said this was to reflect recent cost increases in goods and services.
The council is also opening up the £4m scheme to all eligible buyers - previously it was only available to first-time buyers like Gethin. Last year it was also extended to include empty properties formerly used as second homes. Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community
Gethin said his grant had made all the difference. “It helped us complete essential repairs to the house, such as installing new windows, rebuilding the chimney and electrical work, much more quickly than we would have been able to do on our own, and to have the place ready for us as a family.
“Without the grant, we wouldn’t be where we are now, that’s for sure! It means we can carry on working on the house and make it a home for years to come. The house had been empty for over a year before we moved in, and the former owner, a local woman, really wanted to sell it to local people.”
Gwynedd’s empty homes grant is one of 33 projects in the council’s £140m Housing Action Plan designed to ensure people have access to affordable homes in their own communities. It’s one of several national schemes available to help bring empty houses back into use: others include VAT reductions, Welsh Government loans and a leasing scheme for private landlords.
Cllr Craig ab Iago, the council’s Housing and Property Cabinet Member, said: “There are almost 5,400 empty houses in the county at the moment, including second homes. This is a stark contrast to the almost 900 people who presented themselves as homeless in Gwynedd during the last year.
“It’s completely immoral that so many homes in Gwynedd are empty when the demand for housing is so high. More and more people need our support, whether they are first time buyers or a family in dire need of a bigger house.”
Eligibility criteria for Gwynedd’s Empty Homes Grants Scheme includes having a long-standing connection with the area in which the empty property is located. Applicants’ household incomes must not exceed £60,000.
More details about the empty homes grant, and other housing schemes, are on the Cyngor Gwynedd website. Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday
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