The new-build estate where only two homes have been sold years later

In a village just a stone's throw away from the popular seaside town of Benllech, a group of new-build homes sit mostly empty.

Out of the 16 properties, only two have been bought since construction was finished more than two years ago.

Under planning restrictions imposed before they were built, the homes at Parc Delfryn in Brynteg can only currently only be used as holiday homes - with a planning report suggesting Welsh government tax changes on second homes had played a part in them remaining unsold.

An application has now been submitted to Anglesey council to allow them to be used as full-time residential accommodation.

According to planning documents, two sets of estate agents have tried to convince holidaymakers to pick up the keys to the "high specification" three-bedroom semi-detached homes since the development was finished at the end of 2023.

They were the built as the second phase of a housing scheme after 20 holiday homes were initially constructed and sold "very quickly".

In a planning statement written by Simon Barrie James, of PLanD development consultants, it said the first 20 homes were sold before the tax changes were brought in which "have dramatically affected the local property market".

It said the 14 unsold homes had been affected by an increase in transaction tax for second homes and holiday rentals, an increase in council tax for second homes, and a change in the "general view" of holiday homes and their impact on the community.

Documents state the houses have seen their prices reduced more than six times over two and a half years of marketing, with an asking price of £250,000 in summer 2025.

In 2022 it was announced that some second home owners in Wales could pay four times their current level of council tax from 2023, as part of efforts to make it easier for people to afford homes where they grew up.

Currently, a second home owner on Anglesey must pay 200% council tax - unless the property is let out for at least 182 days a year.

As of late 2023, some 10% of the island's total housing stock was classed as either second or holiday homes, according to the planning documents - higher than in other areas of Wales and in the UK.

In June 2023, the BBC reported Anglesey had seen the biggest jump in holiday home users in England and Wales over the past 10 years.

The planning report said: "There are therefore 14, fully completed, modern family homes ready to be occupied, but which, because of the particular occupancy restriction imposed, are unattractive in the market for the consented, restricted use, even though the price has been reduced quite substantially over time."

It added at least 37 families, the majority of which were local to Anglesey, had asked about buying the properties as full-time family homes in the "tight-knit community" which has its own community hall, pub and golf course.

According to the report author, the owner of the development would be willing to accept a restriction that limits the sale of the houses to only buyers from Anglesey, or with a specific link the island.

He also suggested that with a first-of-its-kind nuclear power station to be built on Anglesey, bringing up to 3,000 jobs, it could have a "significant impact on the local housing market".

"This will likely lead to an extensive and extended imbalance between housing and employment opportunities which will, if not addressed, increase the need for long distance commuting rather than reducing travel distances," he said.

According to Beresford Adam and Dafydd Hardy estate agents, Parc Delfryn is not the only development in the area that has struggled to sell houses that must only be used as second homes.

In a marketing report sent to council planners, the company states it has been "seen on all 'second home new developments'," adding: "All of these sites have attracted very little interest and have completed units, lying empty, with very little, if any interest at all."

A spokesperson for Anglesey Council said the latest decision date for the application was 24 July.

"The local planning authority is currently considering the application," they added.

A spokesperson for the Welsh government said they did not wish to comment.