A new Welsh nationalist party has formed an official grouping on Gwynedd Council as it aims to scrap controversial planning guidelines.

Despite a legal wrangle currently taking place over the party’s name, councillors Peter Read and Dylan Bullard have been officially registered as Y Blaid Genedlaethol or Welsh National Party members.

In May Cllr Read (Abererch), who unsuccessfully attempted to become Dwyfor Meirionnydd’s Plaid Cymru Senedd election candidate, became the second sitting member to join the party after former independent member, Cllr Dylan Bullard (Pwllheli North) a month previously.

The party – led by Senedd Member Neil McEvoy – is currently in dispute over its name after its registration with the electoral commission was challenged by Plaid Cymru.

Despite this its new members in Gwynedd – which also includes Porthmadog town councillor Jason Humphreys – have launched a petition calling for the scrapping of Local Development Plans, describing them as facilitating holiday homes at the expense of locals.

Covering both Anglesey and Gwynedd, the Joint Local Development Plan (JLDP) outlines where up to 7,184 new homes should be built across both counties until 2026.

But having been passed in Gwynedd on a knifedge, it faced opposition with concerns it would lead to a drop in the number of Welsh speakers in both counties.

Being a Welsh Government requirement, however, the WNP’s petition calls for local communities to instead decide major planning issues through local referenda, and regional planning to cater for local housing demand  transport and the environment.

Cllr Read said that Wales is “far too centralised” with “Cardiff deciding too much,” adding: “The WNP wants local housing to be for local people, this is fundamental for us.

“Far too many second homes in Gwynedd have pushed up the price of housing here, with local people priced out.

“Plaid Cymru’s Local Development Plan allows family homes to be converted into holiday homes. This has to change.

“We must also enable our young people to live in our communities. To do this, we must build truly affordable housing and bring empty houses back into use.”

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Councillors Peter Read and Dylan Bullard are now representing the ‘Welsh National Party’ group on Gwynedd Council.

On the Local Development plan, the authority described it as currently a statutory requirement, adding: “One of the strategic objectives of the Plan is to provide a mix of houses, including affordable houses, in order to meet the different needs of the communities in the area.

“Gwynedd Council wants to ensure that the type, size and tenure of the houses that are built are suitable and provide the opportunity for people that need a permanent dwelling in the area to live in a home which is of a standard that meets their needs.

“Gwynedd Council is concerned about the number of holiday homes in some areas in Gwynedd and their potential impact on communities, particular as there appears to be no legislation in place to regulate the use of the housing stock as holiday homes.

“As a result, in July 2019, the cabinet agreed to commission research to explore possible options to try and regulate the use of the housing stock as holiday homes.

“This work is currently ongoing and we expect it to be completed in October 2020.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson added: “Local Development Plans should provide certainty for the public and developers about the type of development which should be permitted at a particular location, which is why it is important councils have up to date plans.

“Where this does not happen, applications for speculative and uncoordinated development can be submitted, leading to unsustainable demands on infrastructure, undermining community confidence in the planning system.

“The most effective way of identifying housing land and controlling new housing development is through LDPs – nearly a quarter of affordable homes in Wales are delivered through the planning system, of which LDPs are an integral part.

“We recognise the challenges second homes – and empty homes – can present to the supply of affordable housing in some communities in Wales. That’s why we are using the powers available to us to increase the availability of affordable housing.

“We are on target to deliver 20,000 new additional affordable homes by the end of the current term of government. We’ve also given local authorities discretionary powers to charge higher levels of council tax on long-term empty and second homes.”