Welsh Government says that it will be taking a three-pronged approach to address second home ownership, which is has become a big issue in coastal and rural communities.

Campaigners and politicians at local and regional level in west Wales have been calling on the government to act to tackle what they believe is a "second homes crisis."

In response to a report on the issue by Dr Simon Brooks, of Swansea University, the Welsh government is promising "a summer of action" to determine how we tackle this issue.

Changes to local taxes, government house purchase schemes and planning laws could be introduced, and officials will also look at options to shut a tax "loophole" where some second home owners do not pay council tax.

Minister for Climate Change Julie James says she has set out an “ambitious three-pronged approach” to address the impact of second home ownership on Wales’ communities.

She says that the new plan "has fairness at its heart", and will seek to ensure that everyone in Welsh communities can have access to good quality, affordable housing.

One focus of the approach will focus on "support" - addressing affordability and availability of housing.

Another will be the "regulatory framework and system" - covering planning law and the introduction of a statutory registration scheme for holiday accommodation.

And the third will be a "fairer contribution" - using national and local taxation systems to ensure second home owners make a fair and effective contribution to the communities in which they buy.

There will also be a pilot area in Wales, to be decided over the summer, where these new measures will be trialled and evaluated before being considered for wider rollout.

Other supporting actions, including the work on a registration scheme for all holiday accommodation and a consultation on changes to local taxes to manage the impact of second homes and self-catered accommodation, will also begin over the summer.

A Welsh Language Community Housing Plan, to protect the particular interests of Welsh language communities, will be published for consultation in the autumn.

Last year, Wales became the only country in the UK to give local authorities the power to charge 100 per cent council tax increase on second homes.

Visiting a housing development in St Davids, West Wales, the Minister met with members of the local community, Pembrokeshire Council and the Community Land Trust to hear how they have been working together to use money raised from the council tax levy to build 18 new affordable homes for local people.

"Meeting with Rachel, Josh from the Community Land Trust, Pembrokeshire Council, and the developers ateb today, has demonstrated how community action and good government policy can work together to bring fairness back into our housing market," she said.

"The continuing rise of house prices mean people, especially younger generations, can no longer afford to live in the communities they have grown up in.

"A high concentration of second homes or holiday lets can have a very detrimental impact on small communities, and in some areas could compromise the Welsh language being spoken at a community level.

"We have already taken strides on some of these issues - last year we became the only nation in the UK to give local authorities the power to introduce a 100% council tax levy on second homes.

"But the urgency and gravity of this situation calls for further intervention, which means real and ambitious actions are delivered at pace, to inject fairness back into the housing system.

"Taking recommendations from Dr Brooks’ report, our new three-pronged approach will kick-start a summer of action which will determine how we tackle this issue now and into the future.

"I am calling on all political parties across the Senedd to get involved in this, as we look to empower our communities to exercise their right to live in good quality homes, wherever they are in Wales."

The Welsh Government's plans, however, were accused of being "weak" and "vague" by Plaid Cymru.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, housing spokesman for Plaid, said: "These weak measures will not be nearly enough to truly get to grips with a housing emergency that is fast engulfing our communities at an alarming rate.

"There is nothing here about closing the council tax loophole. There is nothing here about imposing caps on second homes.

"And there is nothing here about bringing numbers of holiday homes into community ownership through public intervention.

"In fact, there is no detail just vague plans for more consultation," he added.