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The coastal communities of Pembrokeshire are attractive places to live. But with that popularity comes housing pressures.

There are currently about 400 people on the housing waiting list in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

To address that need the park's authority wants to see 530 new affordable homes by 2021 and has drawn up a strategy to achieve that target.

A percentage of developments of two or more homes in the park already have to be given over to affordable housing.

From this weekend one-off housing developments will also have to make a contribution by paying into a pot of money which will be used to finance local affordable housing.

Martina Dunne is head of development plans for the authority.

"If you understand that we're asking for 50% affordable housing on sites of two or more in the national park, what we wanted to do was to be equitable in our approach and ask for a similar contribution from the smaller developments."

The contribution is being phased over three years. Once it's being charged at its full rate, its cost to an average two-storey, three-bedroom home with a 100 square metres of floor space would be £25,000.

It's a substantial sum - and it's causing a substantial stir. Lawrenny dairy farmer and developer David Lort-Phillips is among the critics.

He fears that the park's new policy may lead to more holiday homes being built - as they are exempt from the contribution - and points out that when the national park authority consulted on the idea it received just one response in favour.

"We think it is a shambles, quite frankly. It's the wrong policy applied in the wrong place at the wrong time by the wrong people."

Mr Lort-Phillips concerns are echoed by fellow developer Michael Ritchie of Dragonsway Wales.

He has signed an open letter to the park authority and county council raising concerns that the new policy could hinder the building of new homes.

"It would have to come of either the purchase price of the land or someone would have to pay for it. It's going to cause a lot of sites then to be not worth developing."

"There are many planning applications that five years ago I would have had a stab at because I felt the land was suitable for development. Now you wouldn't bother because it's such a complicated business."

The National Park says it has made significant changes to the details of its new charge to address concerns raised during consultation and that it will negotiate on the level of contribution where it may affect the viability of any development.

Also affordable housing, buildings replacing existing properties and homes with an occupancy condition - perhaps restricting it to an agricultural worker or self-catering accommodation - would be exempt.

According to the park authority's Martina Dunne, that means that the number of developments liable for the charge will be small.

"Just as a rough guess, when it's at the full charge, possibly it would help support five or six units a year, maybe. It's not intended to be the be all and end all of affordable housing delivery."

The money raised will be passed to Pembrokeshire County Council for the two local housing associations - Pembrokeshire Housing and Cantref - to bid for to finance future affordable housing projects within the national park.

Graham Holmes is from Pembrokeshire Housing, which has more than 2,000 homes across the county and is welcoming the new policy.

"For is it is good news. Hopefully they will pass the money on to us and we'll double it up and turn it into a home for rent for ever."

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority is the first in Wales to use new planning guidance to introduce such a scheme.

With the main affordable housing grant reducing by half over the next three years other authorities across Wales will be watching with interest to see what happens next.

Lyn Hambidge is head of housing commissioning with Pembrokeshire County Council.

"What we've been able to do is understand that policy, really think it through in terms of its applicability to the whole of Pembrokeshire."

"Although we haven't got an actual policy position on that at the moment, it is something we are actively having to look at and "Yes", it can play a part."