Priced-out: The housing situation on Ynys Môn

I wrote on Wednesday regarding the demographic double-whammy facing Anglesey over the next 20 years, with the numbers of over 75s expected to almost double whilst simultaneously the number of younger people aged between 25-59 will reduce by 14 percent. There are many reasons for the outward migration of younger people from the island: most notably people leaving to either attend university or to find work (in my case, I did both). However, to my mind there is one other major reason forcing younger people to leave and that is the price of houses on the Island. According to the latest figures on the BBC website, the average house price on Anglesey during the period April-June 2010 was £171,075 -- thus making Anglesey homes more expensive on average than anywhere else in the whole of North Wales.

This is particularly significant when we compare this average house price with average earnings on the Island. Using the latest figures available (2009) the average gross weekly earnings on Anglesey was £492, or approximately £25,610 p.a. (please also note that these figures include the relatively higher wages paid by Anglesey Aluminium at the time, meaning that the actual average wage on the Island has probably slumped somewhat since 2009). This means that the average Anglesey home is almost 7x the average wage. When you consider that even at the height of the housing bubble banks were not offering mortgages even approaching 7x earnings, it makes it very clear how very difficult it is for younger Anglesey residents' to get on the first rung of the housing ladder, without first being able to build up a substantial deposit. To be fair, as the below chart shows the situation is similar across the whole of North Wales, with only Conway houses being more expensive relative to local wages. However, as absolute house prices on Anglesey are that much higher it is clear that it is a significant problem here on Anglesey.

For me this highlights just how important is the need for Anglesey County Council to speed up the completion of the Local Development Plan -- which it is now working on in conjunction with Gwynedd Council. Currently present policies are based on the adopted Ynys Môn Local Plan (1996) and the stopped Unitary Development Plan (2005) -- both of these documents are seriously outdated in all areas: industrial, commercial, and, as discussed above, most importantly in the field of housing and affordable housing. Without increasing the amount of housing available on the island we will continue to drive younger people over the bridge and therefore the Council must as a matter of urgency speed up the finalisation of its joint plan with Gwynedd.

Understanding Planning Decisions on Anglesey

Since setting up The Druid perhaps one topic more than any other has regularly generated substantial controversy and comment: planning decisions. Many a commenter has levelled complaints against Anglesey County Council and its Planning & Orders Committee for perceived bad decisions, alleged injustices, and sometimes even more serious transgressions.

But just how justified are these comments and allegations? Is it a case of lay people not understanding how the system works, with its complex laws, policies and procedures, and jumping to the wrong conclusions?

Perhaps, or perhaps not.

Much conjecture, and much speculation is posted, but not often anything which could be actioned in law. Most (but not all) commenters admit to not knowing much about planning law and many seem to need advice and a guiding hand through its maze of procedure.

Such advice is available of course in the market -- but at a cost. The objector to a planning application can range from a single person, say an affected neighbour, to a number of people, say a community group. The issues are often the same.

The Druid has discrete access to specialist legal advice on planning practice, planning law, policy and procedure and propose that it may be helpful to set up a dedicated page on this blog where questions may be posted, matters may be explored and many complex issues may be explained discreetly, without divulging names or addresses. Lets call them hypothetical scenarios?

So my question to you all is this: do you think there is any merit in the Druid setting up some kind of Q&A page dedicated to planning matters where my specialist will try and answer questions? If so, we could keep it open for as long as it is needed, or until the subject exhausts itself.

And to to kick off the discussion here is a second question for you all: are we all NIMBYs? Are we all obsessed with preserving our immediate orbit and environment?

Note on comments: All normal rules apply - please don't post any specific allegations against named organisations or persons.