The Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – is supporting calls by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) for the Welsh Government to seriously consider introducing a letting criteria exemption for diversified farm businesses.
The calls come as part of the Member’s long running campaign against the Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru move to increase the number of days a holiday let is actually let from 70 to 182 days during any 12 month period to be eligible for business rates.
As FUW has highlighted, it should be remembered that the Welsh Government has encouraged farmers to diversify over recent years to make farm businesses more resilient in light of future changes to agricultural support policies, and that in what is believed to be the vast majority of cases, the conversion of farm buildings into dwellings has only been possible for self-catered accommodation purposes under Section 106 conditions.
Commenting on the impact of the Welsh Government change on farms, Janet said:
“What this attack on the tourism sector by Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru amounts to is regulation which is set to see farmers charged second home council tax for holiday lets they have created within the boundary of their farm!
“When I have previously challenged the Minister for Finance and Local Government over the absolute ludicrousness of the possibility that local residents are going to be charged second home council tax premium on a let within the boundary of their main home, there has been a refusal to compromise.
“The Chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance, Chair of the Professional Association of Self Caterers UK, and Executive Director for Wales, UK Hospitality Cymru, have warned that the change is expected to drive legitimate small businesses to close, and here we have it, clear evidence that Plaid Cymru and Welsh Labour’s policy is set to undermine farm diversifications which actually play a key role in sustaining farms and jobs in rural Wales”.
ENDS
Notes:
