Gwynedd Council is “extremely disappointed” to have been refused leave to appeal the quashing of its Article 4 direction, but campaigners against the policy are delighted.

In September 2024, Gwynedd became the first authority to introduce Article 4, a requirement for planning permission to turn a residential property into a second home or holiday let. Anti-Article 4 campaigners condemned the policy, saying it affected all property owners, devaluing homes, making them harder to sell, and dictating what could be done with them. Those who had recently inherited homes, or stood to in the future, also rose against the policy.

The battle between the council and campaigners went to the High Court, where a judge ruled Gwynedd's cabinet had not been given the full details before making their decision, and quashed Article 4.

The council fought the decision, but the direction has now effectively been scrapped after the High Court refused the council leave to appeal its quashing.

Anti-Article 4 campaigner Shayna Smith said: “Article 4 is dead.

“Everyone involved in supporting the claimant through the judicial review is what led to this very moment.

“We have won!

“There is nothing stopping the council from starting from scratch, but this time there is real data of the impact and it is clear that it only applies to material changes of use, so the weighing up exercise will be very, very different!

“This could never have happened without the unity in our community. We came together over this injustice, supported a local claimant against Gwynedd Council and won.

“The council should reflect on this terrible policy and the damage they have done to the housing market; they should recognise the fact that local homes across the county have lost thousands off the value of their homes for the last two years due to their actions, and they should apologise. Going forward, they should look to building houses and use their time working on how to provide jobs that will allow locals to afford to get on the housing ladder and remain in the area.”

A council spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed with Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Lewison’s decision to refuse our written request for permission to appeal the High Court decision.

“The High Court ordered that the decision to confirm the Article 4 Direction for the Gwynedd Local Planning Authority Area was to be quashed with immediate effect. This brings the litigation process to an end.

“Cyngor Gwynedd is determined to do everything in our power to ensure that the people of Gwynedd have access to suitable homes in their communities and to manage the significant number of homes that are converted into second homes or short-term holiday lets. We will now be considering our next steps to achieve this aim.”

The council said research carried out before introducing the Article 4 Direction showed 65 per cent of Gwynedd households were being priced out of the housing market, with the problem even more acute in communities where there is a high proportion of holiday homes.