Outrage as Welsh Assembly Sacrifices the Celtic Tongue to Property Developers – Welsh Language Society Takes Legal Action

The Welsh language is under assualt from the effects of English speaking immigrants into the Welsh language heartlands.  Over the past several years attempts have been made to counter the pernicious effect of Engish speakers taking up residence in Welsh speaking areas. The focus of these efforts has been the use of planning permision to deny approval to property development which is seen to damage Welsh.

The issue of in-migration and the health of the Celtic tongue had been simmering for years running up to the passage of the “The Planning (Wales) Act 2015”.  Concerns about disruption to traditional Welsh speaking areas by residential development and the influx of English speakers began reaching a boiling point in late 2013. Mounting concern over the threat to the Brythonic tongue by property development in Welsh speaking areas spilled over into political conflict in the Welsh Assembly with charges of corruption against local planning authorities. Pressure began to build in late 2014 for statutory requirements that planning permission include assessment of the impact of new construction on the Welsh tongue as this development is often extremely disruptive to centuries old welsh speaking communities. This all led to the 2015 Law.

The 2015 legislation requires local authorities to assess the impact of new property development on the Welsh language.  When the 2015 law was adopted by the Welsh Assembly, the Welsh Language Society made the following statement: "We are glad that the Welsh language will be a consideration when it comes to housing developments and planning the future of Welsh communities. Cymdeithas yr Iaith has been campaigning for over a quarter century for a new planning system that give the Welsh language status." 

Fast forward to late 2017 when the Welsh Government published planning guidelines (TechnicalAdvice Note 20) which in the eyes of language activists does not conform to the spirit of the 2015 legislation. As a result the Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society) have launched a legal challenge against the new  planning guidelines. The new guidelines block the local planning commissioners from considering the damage inflicted on the stability and health of traditional Welsh speaking areas except in a limited number of cases. The new guidelines exempt the vast majority of new construction from scrutiny and Language activists don’t like it.

As a result, campaigners have launched a legal challenge to the new rules which in some cases block councillors from considering the impact of property development on the Welsh Tongue. The group has said it is concerned the new guidelines prevent councillors from requesting a report on the impact of a planning application on the Welsh Language except in specific cases, such as "big" developments, sites not identified in local development plans or "linguistically significant areas".  Thus omitting a significant number of new projects from the "linguistic test" with potentially devastating consequences for the Welsh language in its traditional heartlands.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has issued the following statement: “The Senedd's (Welsh Assembly) intention when it passed the 2015 Act was to ensure that local councillors had a wide discretion to consider anything connected to the Welsh language when deciding on planning applications. It was not Assembly Members intention to restrict that discrection by prescribing specific circumstances for using it. However, completely contrary to the Act, that's exactly what the (2017) guidelines do, by stating that only when it's a big development outside a local plan in a sensitive area that the evidence of language impact can even be looked at. These restrictions are totally without a basis in the law."  The spokeman added: " This could be a difficult fight, but it will be  a worthwhile one to ensure a bright future for the language in all our communities."

On August 6th Cymdeithas yr Iaith announced legal action against the new regulations.

Image Compliments of the Economist