'Disgraceful' decision to replace much-loved Anglesey hotel with block of holiday homes

Sadness over the loss of a fondly-remembered Anglesey hotel has been compounded by news of what’s replacing it. Widespread shock greeted confirmation that nine apartments will become available this summer – and all can only be used as holiday lets or second homes.

Bull Bay Hotel, Porth Llechog, was demolished after being found to be in a dangerous condition. Two-bedroom apartments built in its place are now being marketed with 999-year leases – providing they are not used as a “primary home”. They're valued between £285,000 and £325,000.

Anglesey, like much of northwest Wales, is grappling with a housing crisis amid complaints that holiday and second homes are depriving locals of much-needed accommodation. As the local authority has developed policies to address the issue, for the new “Gwel Y Mor” apartments to be unavailable as permanent homes has caused island-wide disbelief.

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People lined up to call the move “ridiculous” and “hypocritical”. Online, one resident wrote: “At a time where people are struggling to find a first home, it’s disgraceful that new buildings are going up specifically to be second homes. Absolutely disgusting. Destroying communities.”

Anglesey Council said the apartments were agreed under separate planning policies designed to manage tourism. It stressed residential properties would not have been possible as the site was not designated for permanent housing under the existing Local Development Plan. Holiday lets, however, were “akin” to the site’s former use as a hotel, said the local authority.

Bull Bay Hotel had entertained visitors and locals for more than a century before closing in 2017. Three years later, conversion plans were unveiled for seven holiday apartments and three separate holiday homes, and these were approved in March 2022. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up

Once work had begun, the building was found to be unsafe and an “immediate danger to the general public”, causing it to demolished. New plans, for nine holiday lets, were subsequently approved under delegated powers in February 2023. These included two “penthouses” with larger balconies, and a two-storey mews house with an upside-down layout.

The apartments are being marketed as “luxury accommodation” in an “elevated position”, having been designed to take advantage of “spectacular sea views”. All will have wifi-controlled heating and air-source heat pump hot water. The apartments will have a communal parking area, intercom entry and a communal garden-patio area.

Given the level of housing concerns on Anglesey, their occupancy restrictions have irked local people. “If it was part of a wider strategy to release local homes for local families, via the taxation for second homes, I’d understand it,” said one woman. “The saturation of holiday accommodation on Ynys Môn is completely out of control.”

Another resident agreed. “The amount of holiday homes being built on the island is disgraceful," she said. "There are many local people who are having real difficulty finding a home to live in. By using the site of a hotel-pub that sold fantastic food, employed local people in many jobs, is destroying the livelihood of those people. When will all the holiday home-building stop?”

Some people can see echoes of the old Victorian hotel in the architecture of the new apartment block. Others simply see it as “ugly”. It's similar in scale to the former building, albeit 1.2m (3ft 3) taller.

One person had been sad to see the old hotel taken down. “It was so elegant and had a feel of old-fashioned glamour and romance to it, down by the cove,” she said. “These new buildings are alright but they’re generic, nothing special. Unfathomable to prioritise holiday lets and second homes.”

Her points were echoed by another who feels a part of old Anglesey has been lost. “This beautiful picturesque little cove has been ruined,” she said. “Also, there is now nowhere to park for people wanting to visit or to walk along the coastal path.”

Anglesey Council said current housing stocks were unaffected by the holiday development. To ensure it’s not used as a primary residence, a register of occupiers will be kept.

The local authority said the fact that the previous building was a hotel, was a “material consideration” in deciding planning permission. Neither was it considered that the development would lead to a local over-concentration of holiday accommodation, set at 15% of local housing.

A spokesperson added: “The site was appropriate in scale, it did not result in the loss of permanent housing stock and, as as it was replacing a former hotel with a building of a similar size and scale, it did not significantly harm the residential character of the area.” Get the best island stories from our Anglesey newsletter - sent every Friday

Tourism-related schemes like this are considered under the council’s TWR 2 planning policy. This replaced former guidance which had led to the development of a small estate of second homes in Brynteg.

Issues affecting current housing stocks, and the availability of affordable housing, are dealt with under separate planning policies. The council added: “Tourism is the largest economic sector on the island and the Joint Local Development Plan has to balance the need of local people - in terms of housing, and specifically affordable housing for local people - with the needs of the visitor economy.”

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