Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Carmarthenshire County Council has become the first authority in Wales to suspend its Right to Buy scheme. The Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 allows local authorities to apply for permission to suspend the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire locally to help tackle housing pressures. Carmarthenshire Council was the first local authority to ask the Welsh Government to suspend of Right to Buy and, today, the Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister, Lesley Griffiths, approved Carmarthenshire’s application. Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, Cllr Kevin Madge, said: “We very much welcome this decision by the Minister, which will help alleviate the demand on our housing register and support our vision to make more good quality homes available for local people. “We also welcome other measures that Welsh Government is seeking to introduce to further protect much needed affordable housing across Wales, and we are very proud that here in Carmarthenshire we are leading the way.” Cllr Tegwen...

There's just a few days left for people to make their views known regarding plans to amend, or suspend, the Right to Buy scheme. Carmarthenshire County Council is supporting the Welsh Government’s consultation on the proposals which could give individual local authorities the permission to suspend the Right to Buy in their areas for up to five years. If the proposal goes ahead, any suspension could be restricted to certain areas or property types, depending on local housing need. It is aimed at maintaining the availability of social housing in times of extraordinary pressure. The Right to Acquire for secure tenants of housing associations may also be affected. Carmarthenshire County Council’s housing department wants tenants, residents, and the wider public, to air their views before the Welsh Government makes its decision. Responses need to be made by the end of October. Head of Housing, Robin Staines, said: “Suspending the Right to Buy scheme in certain areas would effectively me...