AUTHORITY REFUSED PERMISSION TO APPEAL HIGH COURT RULING

A COUNCIL is weighing up its options after a controversial housing measure was refused leave to appeal by a Lord Justice.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

The decision means Cyngor Gwynedd’s Article 4 Direction (A4D) is now effectively scrapped.

Introduced in September 2024, A4D became one of several measures used by Cyngor Gwynedd to curb holiday homes in the county. It required property owners to obtain planning permission to turn a residential property into a second home or holiday let.

Legal action was launched by taxpayers claiming it would devalue homes and make them harder to sell. In November last year a High Court judge quashed Gwynedd’s A4D after ruling that cabinet members had lacked all the details needed to make an informed decision.

The council sought leave to appeal, warning property owners that, if it succeeded, any material changes of use made in the interim would be “unauthorised and could be subject to enforcement action”.