Frustration is building over a planning deadlock that has left a new housing development on Anglesey sitting virtually empty for more than two years. At least 37 predominantly local people wanting to buy homes have been turned away – because the properties can only be used as holiday homes.
Among them was a woman who discovered she could only move to Parc Delfryn, Brynteg, if she kept her current home in Llangefni and let it out. Jane Roberts, 66, told BBC Wales it was “not a good look” for an area where she has strong family connections – her father and grandparents were born in the village, and her daughter lives there with her children.
Just two of the estate’s 16 properties have been sold, with the remainder lining deserted streets that are generating virtually no interest. The situation has been described as “crazy” by locals on an island where people are “screaming out for homes”.
Online, a Llangoed resident described it as a “total disgrace”. A Holyhead local added: “Questions should asked why on earth the council passed the planning to be just holiday homes in the first place. Absolutely ludicrous decision.”
Reform Senedd Member for Bangor Conwy Môn, Helen Jenner said the scheme needed a “serious rethink”. She said: “If the over provision of holiday accommodation is damaging our communities, surely leaving 14 perfectly good houses permanently restricted to holiday use while dozens of local families are asking to buy them as homes, deserves a serious rethink?”
In autumn 2023, the three-bedroom properties were marketed by estate agents Beresford Adams and Dafydd Hardy at an asking price of £250,000. Targeted at holiday home buyers or investors, they featured premium features like bifold patio doors, Karndean flooring and complimentary golf club memberships, reports North Wales Live.
A major attraction was Benllech beach, just a five-minute drive away. Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here.
At first, the properties seemed to generate interest – receiving 15,000 views on Rightmove alone. However only 74 viewings were scheduled and just two properties sold. Estate agents Beresford Adams described the result as “very disappointing”.
Three considerably lower offers were also made, between £197,500 and £205,000. These were turned down as they would “not cover the land/construction cost of the units”.
An open day at the development was then organised with prospective buyers invited from throughout north and mid Wales, Cheshire and the broader north west. However, not a single person turned up.
On two of Brynteg’s more established residential estates, one from the 1970s, the other from 2000, 10 houses have sold over the past two years.
In a planning report, Beresford Adams said: “Arguably, (Parc Delfryn) would have been a preferential choice for families when compared to houses that are 20-50 years old.”
Despite six price cuts, each supported by new marketing campaigns, there has still be little success. Tom Parry, Llangefni branch manager at Dafydd Hardy, said the properties had failed to attract “any meaningful interest”.
In a report, he continued: “Accordingly, the properties lie vacant and unused and will deteriorate over time unless maintained, which at this time is being undertaken by owners.”
With local families desperate for accommodation, the impasse creates a peculiar situation where the estate’s properties appeal to plenty of people – but not the right people. So how did Parc Delfryn get to this point and what’s stopping it from being resolved?
Good intentions
Parc Delfryn’s roots can be traced back to historic local planning policies from 1996. These were designed to “balance the local economy” during a period when tourism was viewed as an economic prospect.
The development, on land adjacent to Storws Wen Golf Club, was initially approved in November 2007. A total of 36 homes were to be built across two phases.
All were to feature an upmarket “Scandinavian” aesthetic aimed at attracting second home owners, with solar panels, Juliet balconies and a boat park.
The approval arrived as holiday home pressures were mounting on the island: as a result, the proposed development was to serve as an early test case for new supplementary planning guidance (SPG) introduced to tackle the rapid growth of second homes on Anglesey. The SPG provided planning officers with the tools to set thresholds in specific areas, preventing an excessive concentration of tourist accommodation — a growing concern in coastal villages.
This was subsequently refined into a 15% cap on local housing stocks.
The SPG also closed a loophole frequently exploited by developers, who had previously used holiday home and holiday park applications as a backdoor means of building in green belt locations, before converting them into open-market residential properties. The remedy, through the SPG, was to ensure that any approved rural holiday units were legally restricted to holiday-use occupancy only.
It was a well-intentioned approach that fulfilled its purpose – yet one that would later confuse residents and prove troublesome for developers.
A series of planning extensions kept Parc Delfryn viable as a legal proposition. The initial 20-house phase began in February 2020 and, despite disruptions caused by the pandemic, was finished by Easter 2022, with all units selling out rapidly.
This paved the way for the second phase, to be built nearby — across the B5108, next to a Tandoori restaurant.
However, difficulties were mounting for the Wirral-based developers. Work on the second phase, made up of 16 semi-detached units, faced considerable delays while diversions of water and electricity services were being negotiated.
Construction did not get under way until March 2023, with marketing beginning that autumn. Although the development was finished by April 2024, the delay would prove catastrophic.
Tide turns
By late 2023, more than 10% of Anglesey’s housing stock was categorised as either second or holiday homes, restricting availability and inflating prices. With approximately two-thirds of local families unable to afford properties, a backlash was gathering momentum.
By the time Parc Delfryn was finished, the political landscape had shifted. A raft of Welsh Government measures followed, all aimed at curbing holiday home expansion.
These included rises in transaction tax and increased council tax premiums for second homes. Holiday lets faced the same premium unless occupied for 182 days annually.
Gwynedd, and subsequently Eryri, introduced an additional planning restriction, Article 4, which actively promoted the conversion of holiday homes back into permanent residential properties. Anglesey Council is observing its neighbours but has thus far held back from pursuing a similar policy.
Meanwhile, Gwynedd’s Article 4 is currently suspended after being successfully challenged by disgruntled holiday home owners.
The multi-pronged approach succeeded in slowing down holiday home growth and, in certain areas, reversing it entirely. Demand collapsed – to such an extent that Gwynedd council has asked Cardiff to review its 182-day holiday let policy.
Estate agents Beresford Adams reported that the number of second home buyers had been reduced to a “negligible level”. Simon James, a planning consultant at PLanD, which is representing Parc Delfryn’s developers, went further, saying the strategy had “killed the holiday home market”.
Parc Delfryn wasn’t the sole victim, as highlighted by Beresford Adams. “This trend is not specific to this development,” the agents stated.
“(It) is seen on all ‘second home new developments’ of which we are marketing two, the Glynllifon site in Marianglas, and Sandbanks in Brynteg.
“Dafydd Hardy is marketing another site called Gwel Y Mor, in Bull Bay. All of these sites have attracted very little interest and have completed units, lying empty, with very little, if any interest at all.”
Planning complications stemming from holiday home policies stretch across the island, causing frustration for prospective buyers. A woman employed on Anglesey’s Holy Island encountered planning obstacles when trying to buy a property with two homes for family use.
She said online: “Lots of them (that we looked at) were main residences with planning on the second property – usually a barn conversion to holiday let only. We couldn’t live in them.
“To change it the process is very long winded and almost impossible to do. It’s a shame. Some of us work here and just want homes! There needs to be an easier process within planning to convert them to residential properties.”
Location location
Parc Delfryn’s problems were also rooted in its position. Holiday lets on the estate cheerfully advertise a “20-minute walk to Benllech beach”, leaving visitors puzzled when Google suggests a 51-minute trek.
Brynteg was simply too far from the coast to benefit from the strong holiday home appetite for genuinely seaside spots.
The situation differs for local residents, for whom amenities and community represent crucial purchasing considerations, according to Beresford Adams. The estate agents noted: “Brynteg does not have as big a pull for second home buyers as the centres of Beaumaris, Menai Bridge, Marianglas and Benllech.
“Brynteg is however very popular with local buyers; it is a tight-knit community, centred around the community hall, the local pub and the golf course, where everyone knows each other. It is therefore an attractive local market, where there is notable demand. Our view is that these properties would sell quite easily to local buyers looking for exactly this type of accommodation.”
Many Anglesey locals also remain baffled by the stalemate at Parc Delfryn.
On social media, one man said: “Such crazy policies! Lift the covenant and let local people buy! These houses are ideal as starter homes for our younger families.”
Another local woman said: “Ludicrous, locals should be able to purchase these as homes. Why have houses sitting empty? Ridiculous!”.
Nevertheless, lifting planning restrictions agreed nearly two decades ago proves far from straightforward.
Loopholes and precedents
In early 2025, the developer behind Parc Delfryn submitted an application to alter the designation of four of its properties, pledging a “locals only” sales restriction should the bid prove successful. Anglesey council rejected the application, ruling that it would breach planning policy.
The council also argued that insufficient detail had been provided regarding biodiversity improvements.
Armed with 14 pairs of bird and bat boxes, the developer returned in June 2026 with a renewed bid, this time to change the use of all its unsold properties. Again the application was refused, the council once more citing planning policy.
Concern was also expressed over the number of off-road car parking spaces and a lack of detail about Welsh Language impacts.
PLanD characterised the decision as “counter-intuitive to government advice and to the pronouncements of politicians”. However, concerns over loopholes remain firmly held at the council, extending beyond mere attempts to develop green belt land through the back door.
As a “commercial” development, Parc Delfryn was not bound by the same obligations as new-build residential estates. Had a housing estate been constructed on the same site in 2007, the developer would have been required to designate a proportion of properties as affordable housing.
They would also have been obligated to contribute towards local infrastructure, including schools, roads and medical facilities. Because the developer submitted an application for a commercial holiday home site, they were legally exempt from these expensive additional requirements.
The “holiday only” restriction was consequently imposed to stop the developer circumventing standard residential planning obligations. Anglesey Council is now maintaining this stance, concerned that a “dangerous precedent” might be established if it relents.
Parc Delfryn’s developer is contemplating an appeal to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). They face a challenging task: historically, PEDW has adopted a stringent approach to such change-of-use appeals, typically supporting local authority decisions.
PEDW regards tax alterations as a commercial risk for developers, rather than a legitimate planning justification for circumventing local council policy. The absence of an affordable housing provision could also count significantly against Parc Delfryn.
Nevertheless, comparable appeals have occasionally been successful: if the developer can present sufficient evidence that the properties will never be purchased by holiday owners, a sympathetic inspector might deem 14 vacant “locals only” dwellings a squandering of desperately needed infrastructure.
Housing demand set to rise
The spectacle of numerous boarded-up homes has caused fury on an island grappling with a housing crisis. While holiday homes are a contributing factor, empty properties are too.
Adding to the issue is impending social and economic challenges, and an ageing population putting pressure on local housing stock.
Over the coming decade, the number of Anglesey residents aged over 85 is projected to increase by 70%, reducing the rate at which properties become available on the market.
Industrial decline affecting the island has impacted employment and further reduced people’s ability to buy property. Hundreds remain on the council’s housing register, with particularly strong demand for smaller properties and social housing.
Planning consultants PLanD say housing demand will be further intensified by proposals to locate the UK’s first small modular reactor (SMRs) nuclear power station in north Anglesey. According to the UK Government, the development could generate up to 3,000 new jobs.
In a planning document, PLanD stated: “The significant increase in employment opportunities….. will likely require a very substantial additional housing in the short to medium term. Given the nature of the jobs likely to be created there will likely be an influx of people as well as local people taking up employment on the site.
“Given Anglesey is an island and some considerable distance from main centres of population, this will likely have both a significant impact on the local housing market and increase the pressure on local housing supply. (It) will require a significant increase in the provision of housing can both live and work locally.”
Failure to do so is likely to create a housing “imbalance” leading to long-distance commuting, said the consultants. “It also will be reflected in local house prices which would, potentially, further increase the pressure on families because of affordability.”
In a housing strategy developed in 2023, Anglesey Council committed to expanding its total social housing stock by 25% over the next 30 years. The local authority intends to construct 45 new rental homes annually to grow its portfolio to 5,445 properties.
Empty and derelict properties are also being returned to use, and financial assistance is being provided to first-time buyers and local families who cannot compete on the open market.
Will this prove sufficient?
PLanD remains doubtful, stating support for local first-time buyers is restricted by financial limitations and a shortage of suitable housing stock to acquire. Between 2016-2025, a total of 1,915 new homes were constructed on the island, 533 (22%) short of the projected requirement for the period.
Meanwhile, estimates for the additional housing demand generated by Anglesey’s SMR plan have yet to be quantified.
It’s contended that holiday home crackdowns can present an opportunity to address Anglesey’s housing shortfall if planning restrictions are relaxed – beginning with Parc Delfryn. PLanD stated: “Simply put, there are 14 unused dwellings within the general extent of Brynteg that are owned by a single party who is willing for these to be made available for general residential occupation, without public subsidy.
“In other words, they can be placed into the market for sale, a market that has been tested and would, in the selling agents’ view, be readily acquired.”
What happens if the appeal fails?
All 14 properties remain available for purchase, their streets strangely devoid of vehicles and residents. Should the change-of-use appeal be unsuccessful, additional price reductions might be required to stand any chance of attracting holiday home buyers.
However, according to Dafydd Hardy’s Tom Parry, there is a threshold. Any reductions will need to be “very hefty” to counterbalance the increased taxes associated with owning second homes and, potentially, holiday lets.
He explained: “It is very difficult to put a price on this, given that the buyer pool is now very small. But in our view the dwellings would likely need to be priced at a level that would mean a substantial loss on each dwelling. Our view at this time is that the price would likely have be at a level below the construction and land cost.
“It must be emphasised, even a significant reduction on the price is uncertain to attract purchasers. As such, without a change to the restriction, they will likely remain unoccupied and unused going forward.”
Should the appeal prove successful, however, it could potentially trigger additional applications, having established the “dangerous precedent” Anglesey is so concerned about.
