Housing, local government and a community-focussed planning system

Everybody in Wales should have the right to a safe home at a cost they can afford. And they should be able to access effective public services in vibrant, prosperous and well-connected communities.

A warm, secure and affordable home is a basic prerequisite for a healthy, happy life. But for too many people in Wales, this remains out of reach. A Plaid Cymru government will work to change that.

We will protect renters, build more social homes, and improve the quality and energy efficiency of Welsh housing.

We will reform the planning system so it better serves our people, communities and businesses, and helps build a more connected and prosperous Wales, and review planning regulations so they are fit for the future.

And we will ensure our local authorities are in the strongest position possible to provide the services on which we all depend.

Actions in the first 100 days:

Housing for all

  • Establish Unnos – a new national development body and social housing enabler that will work closely with local authorities and housing associations to assemble land and secure finance for social housing
  • Outline proposals on making renting in Wales fairer, and begin the work of legislating for a Right to Adequate Housing

Warmer and more energy efficient homes

  • Review the existing Warm Homes Programme, and work to introduce changes so that we can go further and faster on improving home energy efficiency – raising living standards, tackling fuel poverty, and reducing carbon emissions for more households, more quickly

Local government

  • Commission a review of the funding formula for local government, to bring forward recommendations for reform it so that it better reflects the real cost of delivering services in different parts of Wales
  • Establish positive working relationships with local authorities throughout Wales, agreeing on joint priorities and ways of working, on the basis of a renewed Strategic Partnership Agreement

Planning and regional development

  • Examine options for reducing the complexity and bureaucracy of planning processes and extending permitted development rights, including for community-led housing and household renewables
  • Work with local authorities and other regional partners to develop a new National Development Framework that meets Wales’s needs, empowers local government and reduces costs, bureaucracy and duplication