Saundersfoot councillor voices concerns that funding from the Second Homes Council Tax is not being spent in areas impacted the most

County councillor for Saundersfoot Cllr Chris Williams has voiced his concerns that funding from the Council Tax premium for second homes is not being spent in areas of Pembrokeshire impacted the most.
An ‘Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund’ was established by the Local Authority back in 2017 to use money from that premium, to provide grants to enhance the sustainability of local communities.
Grants distribution has historically seen 75 per cent targeted at local wards proportionate to the number of second homes.
However, members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, at a meeting last summer, heard it was now proposed to have a county-wide approach of larger and smaller schemes; with members agreeing that the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund be amalgamated into a single generic funding pot, with the indicative allowance of some £700,000 annually.
Following on from that, at the meeting of Council before Christmas it was decided that the premium of 200% council tax (in addition to the standard 100% Council Tax charge) be introduced on second homes from April 1, 2024.