What a Plaid Cymru-led Wales means for property
With manifesto promises to build at least 20,000 social homes by 2030 and to reform the planning system, here’s what the industry needs to know about the party’s agenda and how it will impact projects in Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Anglesey, and Gwynedd.
Why it matters
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is expecting to become the First Minister later today, forming a minority government with the Green Party.
Plaid Cymru won 43 seats on Thursday’s Welsh Parliament elections, including 11 in North Wales. The Green Party claimed two, with Green leader Anthony Slaughter pledging his support for ap Iorweth.
Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds, the only member of her party in the Senedd, is expected to abstain as are the nine remaining Labour members of the Senedd – one of whom is representing the Fflint Wrecsam constituency.
The second largest party in Wales is Reform, which has 34 seats. Of these, nine were from North Wales constituencies.
Manifesto promises
Deliver at least 20,000 social homes by 2030
Create Unnos, a “national development body and social housing enabler”
- Would work with local authorities and affordable housing providers
- Would be able to act as a broker to find, acquire, and de-risk sites for social housing
- Would help with planning applications and project management
- Would aid local authorities and registered providers in finding funding for these projects
- Would support procurement process to help bring in local businesses
- Would encourage innovation within social housing such as MMC
Review, alongside local authorities, existing measures regarding second homes and holiday lets to see what works and what more needs to be done
Further develop services that adapt and improve homes to they are suitable for older people who want to live independently
Speed up remediation work on buildings with fire safety defects, including cladding deemed to be unsafe
Reform strategic planning
- “Take a community-centred approach that protects and strengthens local leadership in setting planning priorities”
- Craft a new national development framework, regional map, and plan for implementation
- Change the consultation process around local development plans to give communities more power over their development – this appears to be a response to the very dramatic saga around Wrexham’s now-quashed local development plan
- Make it easier to ament local plans to reflect changes in housing needs
- Cut red tape around planning to provide guarantees on consenting timelines
- Extend permitted development rights to include community-led housing projects, energy works, and small-scale renewable schemes
- Review uses and process of Section 106 agreements
- Implement the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities’ recommendations on town and country planning
Strengthen oversight and enforcement against developers and freeholders who do not meet fire safety remediation deadlines
Conduct regular housing surveys to get a sense of the housing need in the country
Develop a new retrofit programme
- Change energy efficiency standards so they are “practical and achievable”
- Create one-stop-shop hubs that can provide advice, guidance, and support on home improvements and financing options
- Create a quality control process that keeps track of work being done to ensure it meets standards as well as requiring an independent assessment of the work prior to payment
- Explore creating permitted development rights for heat pumps and household renewables
Encourage Welsh pension funds to invest in housebuilding
Explore developing financial products through the Development Bank of Wales and the government’s borrowing powers to encourage housebuilding
One word: recession.
By Amddifad gwleidyddol
let them get on with it in their country. nowt to do with us
By Anonymous
Place North West covers North Wales, so what the Welsh Government priorities are is of importance to those in our readership.
By Julia Hatmaker
Anonymous @ 11.27am, as well as acknowledging the stated PNW area of coverage, would do well to understand that economies and movement of goods, people, etc. do not stop at borders. So what is going on in Wales, particularly North Wales, is of relevance to the NW of England. Neither England nor Wales is an island.
By Cymru am byth
All very sensible policies, and good to see that they’ll work as a minority government thereby allowing vote by vote negotiation to get legislation through. Some of the above will appeal to the Conservatives and some to Labour.
I wish them well
By Jack Mary Ann
Just where are you going to find the tradesmen to build them. Plus the costs have risen so not easy to build low cost housing.
By Anonymous
They kept quiet about Independence, we have that to come.
By Jack the Lad
Inward looking as ever. Little consideration for the bigger picture. They’ll want independence next – then they’ll realise none of it is affordable.
By Anonymous
Interesting you mention the second largest political party in Wales, Reform. 43 seats, as an afterthought. Whether or not your paper agrees or not. The People of Wales voted in 43 MS .
By John
Not an after thought, but the story was focussed on the new leadership at the Senedd – and while Reform will be a powerful second party, their leader is not the First Minister.
By Julia Hatmaker
There’s plenty of empty properties in Wales without building more! This is just the start of more money wasting, money Wales does not have. Next will be independence, something else that Wales cannot afford! I’d think better of Plaid Cymru if they concentrated on the NHS and education, both in such a dire state, followed by better roads to encourage business investment. Wales will be in the same sad state as it was under the labour party. God help us – and quickly!!
By Anonymous
Well we wait an see
By Anonymous
So here we go again: new “plans”, a new “national body”, and another round of “planning reforms”. All of it sounds ambitious, and all of it will supposedly reshape housing delivery, funding, timelines, and local authority collaboration.
But this is basically the Welsh version of the 1.5m homes speech from Labour— and for the same reasons, it risks failing.
It could work if:
• Unnos genuinely centralises expertise while keeping decisions local
• Planning is modernised so LDPs can adapt quickly
• Investment is targeted at high‑need areas with MMC capacity (boxes work fine as MMC)
• Fire‑safety and retrofit are integrated into one coherent system
• Second‑home policy balances local needs with economic reality
The problem? Delivering all of this requires a level of competence rarely shown in local government and the elephant in the room: a reliable supply of cash. Without that, it’s just another glossy plan destined to gather dust.
By Steve5839
No government in Wales does anything for ceredigion. Have left some of our towns go to rot, so I have no faith in plaid in anything they do as we from ceredigion will be left on the back burner again everything seems to go to South Wales not realizing there are other parts of Wales that need it too
By Anonymous
Stop penalising those providing holiday accommodation where that accommodation is within the same curtilage as the owners residence. It is highly unlikely we are going on holiday to our ‘second home’ when it is 10 metres away
By Stuart
I agree with newhouses build for Welsh people and not immigrants
Get rid of tourist tax we need holiday makers for our shops ,cafe ,pubs etc
Get rid of the second home taxes these people keep their homes to a high standard and employ gardeners,cleaners painters etc
By Anonymous
Love this. We will build 20000 social homes by 2030. We will take a community centred approach to planning. Compare and contrast these statements!!!!!!
By Really
How will they fund it.
By Mr G Owen
Permitted development rights for heat pumps?… so no need for noise impact assessments as part of the planning process then? More greenwashing to kick the can (of worms) down the road. This may look good on paper but the reality of a heat pump compressor 4m from a bedroom window is no joke.
By Anonymous
Replacing second homes with retirement homes for English people. The only people that can afford them
By Anonymous
What currency would an independent wales use? Still no answer from Plaid!!!!!
By Carol
Plaids manifesto is fantasy world. It all depends on the Westminster government giving him billions more over the block grant.
By Lady Jane grey
Encourage Welsh pension funds to invest in housebuilding
I take it public funding again as politicians won’t jeopardise their own pension.
There’s plenty of empty houses in Wales, restore those first.
Wales has a beautiful green environment, do not spoil it for the sake of the environment, wildlife and the people.
By Dawn
Second homeowners should not be penalised for providing local work and injecting finance into local communities. There is so much misunderstanding about second homes , from the government and localised press.
By Anonymous
It would be nice to see retail properties that have been empty for years , given the green light to be sold and converted to domestic properties, without councils having to invest large amounts of tax payers money. It would give more housing to citizens and be more practical , also bringing in valuable custom!
By Anonymous