On Monday November 23,representatives of the language organisations involved with the Gwynedd and Môn Housing and Planning Campaign Committee met with the officers and councillors responsible for the two counties’ Local Development Plan. The delegation included representation from Cylch yr Iaith), Dyfodol i’r Iaith, Canolfan Hanes Uwchgwyrfai and Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.

The proposed plan to build almost 8,000 new homes has led to an outcry by the Campaign Committee, who are concerned that it will prove harmful to the Welsh language within the communities of both counties. They have highlighted the serious flaws in the Councils’ assessment of the Plan in relation to its impact on the Welsh language. The fundamental flaw, according to the organisations, being the fact that independent external expertise was not employed to assess the Welsh-language impact.

Following the meeting, the following statement was made by the Campaign Committee:

“Our concerns are based on the fate of Welsh as a community language within Gwynedd and Môn and the impact of the Local Development Plan on its situation. Suffice to say, the Welsh language faces the greatest crisis in its history, with the number of communities where over 70% of the population speak the language falling from 59 to 49 between 2001 and 2011. With the exception of one community in Conwy, all that remains of these communities are limited to Gwynedd and Môn.

“The Welsh Government’s guidelines for Local Authorities emphasise that the evidence used as a basis for the Local Development Plan has to be robust. We highlighted as part of the comments made in response to the consultation over 40 flaws, including absence of evidence, unsatisfactory evidence, unreliable evidence and inconsistencies.

“Our plea to Gwynedd and Môn Councils today is that the officers and councillors who are responsible for the Plan give fair and full considerations to our comments, rectify the flaws and see to it that it contains nothing that can have an adverse effect on the situation of the Welsh language within our communities. It is essential to ensure that housing and planning policy contribute to the strengthening of the language.”

At the end of January, the Committee responsible for the Plan will decide on responses to all the comments received during the consultation period, before a final version of the Plan is presented to the Welsh Government. A public inquiry will be held next year, and representatives of the Campaign Committee have registered their wish to contribute. The final version of the Plan will be adopted at the beginning of 2017.

Dyfodol’s new leaflet which summarises the manifesto priorities – English Leaflet

The Welsh Government’s Welsh language policy needs to change direction. That is the claim of Dyfodol i’r Iaith, the Welsh Language national movement in launching its manifesto in the National Assembly on Wednesday, September 30.
Heini Gruffudd, Chair of Dyfodol i’r Iaith said, “We are calling for a change of emphasis from law-making and regulating to language promotion. Laws can ensure language rights, but we need to facilitate the use of Welsh in the home, in education, on the street and at work. A new vision and determination is needed to do this.”
“We want to see Wales adopting policies that have borne fruit in other countries across Europe.”
“Over the last twenty years the numbers of Welsh speakers in Wales has not increased. In the same period the number of Basque speakers has risen from 529,000 to 714,000. There is no reason why we cannot have the same success in Wales.”
Dyfodol i’r Iaith wants to see all political parties accepting a common policy to promote the language. According to Dyfodol i’r Iaith, the policy should give priority to the growth of Welsh medium education, to strengthen Welsh for Adults to fulfil its role in developing a Welsh-speaking workforce and in promoting Welsh in the home, and to establish a network of Canolfannau Cymraeg – Welsh language centres – across Wales.
“One basic change we want to see is the establishment of an arm’s length Agency that will be responsible for promoting Welsh at grass roots level, and for implementing creative and experimental promotion campaigns, which can be difficult for civil servants.”
“We also want to see the Welsh Language Commissioner concentrating on promoting Welsh in workplaces, by making Welsh the language of work and of oral communication.”
“We have already met representatives of all parties, and are looking forward to continuing our discussions with them.”
The launch event in the assembly is sponsored by Keith Davies AM, Suzy Davies AM, Alun Ffred Jones AM and Aled Roberts AM.