With the consultation process ending this week, the question of whether second homes in Pembrokeshire should be subject to extra Council Tax has been under the spotlight.

With a report stating that there’s an estimated 3,000 second homes in Pembrokeshire, under the ‘Housing Act’ the Welsh Government is introducing measures to allow local authorities to increase council tax bills on these and empty properties by up to 100 per cent.

A survey looking into ways of saving Pembrokeshire County Council money, saw 73 per cent who took part state that they thought it was acceptable to increase council tax for second home owners in the county.

However, the subject matter seems to have split opinions, with members of PCC’s cabinet hearing at their meeting on Monday that the authority had seen “a mixed bag in the raft of responses received” on the consultation which was due to end that day.

One such property owner in Tenby who contacted the Observer last week, before the consultation deadline had taken place, criticised the proposal.

“I’ve been a second home owner in Tenby for many years and I’m appalled by these proposals put forward,” they stated.

“Second homes are more common in Tenby than in any other place in Pembrokeshire.

“I am in the process of filling out the county council’s consultation, and they go on to ask what second home owners would suggest is a reasonable premium, by ticking the option boxes provided, and my answer would be -50 per cent!”

“The deadline to respond to the consultation process was on Monday, but I’ve put quite a few points to PCC that I’m still awaiting satisfactory answers to,” they added.

Implementation of an additional levy resulting in a 200 per cent charge for second homes could result in additional income of £3.4m per annum from 2017-18.

Tenby county councillor Michael Williams, who represents the north ward, has backed the proposals, submitting a notice of motion to Monday’s cabinet meeting, urging the authority to welcome the opportunity to double council tax on second homes and commenting that it was now “time to tackle something that has overwhelming public support.”

Following this, Clr. Williams stated that PCC should press for all second homes to be charged treble council tax, and press the Welsh Local Government Association to take this matter forward.

“In the near future local authorities will be able to double council tax payable on second homes - PCC should do so at the earliest opportunity,” stated Clr. Williams in his motion.

“The doubling of council tax for second homes will result in a net increase in tax to PCC of £3.8m. To treble would result in the sum of £6.8m being raised.

“This would in some way compensate for the damage being done to local businesses and the cultural life of the area.”

Clr. Williams said that the situation presently in existence was unsustainable, with fewer and fewer people residing full time in certain areas, and that businesses were struggling to survive, and cultural organisations had difficulty in recruiting members.

“I would invite anyone who doubts the huge damage being done to our way of life to walk through areas such as Tenby during a winter evening,” he continued.

“The number of properties being lived in is alarmingly small, with swathes of the area in complete darkness.

“A few examples are, Harding Street, where I live, has 11 dwellings, but only four are occupied as family homes. These are three to five-bedroom dwellings.

“Lower Frog Street has approximately 30 dwellings, 22 of which are second homes. Particularly badly affected are St. Mary’s Street, where one large modern block of flats is almost entirely second homes, Cresswell Street and Culver Park, with about 75 per cent unoccupied.

“We see in Tenby second homes taking over one and two-bedroom properties as well as four/five-storey town houses which sell for in excess of £800k.

“The pressure on the local housing market is unsustainable. In particular, our young people, if they are fortunate enough to find employment locally, find themselves priced out of their native community,” commented Clr Williams, whose second notice of motion to cabinet urged the authority to make representation to the Welsh Government advocating that planning regulations are changed, so that before any property is permitted to be used as a second home, it should be subject to a change of use application.

“The reaction generally is to stand back and wring our hands as if nothing can be done. This is not the case, as I believe both of my motions show,” he said.

“A local authority has a duty, first and foremost, to its full time residents.

“Anything it can do to reduce the incentive to purchase second homes must be done as a matter of urgency.

“The planning requirement might be viewed as closing the stable door long after the horse has bolted.

“In some areas this is true, but we now see a growing extension of second home ownership into areas where it was never seen before, putting even more pressure on the housing market,” added Clr. Williams in his motion to the cabinet.

Council leader Jamie Adams and other members present highlighted the fact that as the consultation was currently ongoing, it would be difficult to support Clr. Williams’s first notice of motion, without first hearing a comprehensive report on the findings.

It was resolved that the cabinet member for planning and sustainability should write to the Minster for Natural Resources outlining the council’s concerns relating to the impact of ‘holiday’ and ‘second’ home ownership and requesting that consideration be given to an appropriate amendment to the Use Classes Order.