Welsh council demands homes aren't given to 'English speakers' who are taking their houses
The council believes the new homes should only be given to Welsh speakers due to "a substantial influx of non-Welsh speakers to the area".
A council in Wales has suggested a bid to build 18 affordable homes in a village should not be given to ‘English speakers’.
Gwynedd Council, in North Wales, has received an application submitted by Cae Capel Cyf to build 18 affordable homes on grazing land adjoining Cae Capel in Botwnnog in Gwynedd, which is predominantly Welsh speaking.
Botwnnog is a village and community in Gwynedd, located on the Llŷn Peninsula.
The application has received significant objections locally, with concerns the impact the proposals could have on the heritage of the area.
The community council has also made its feelings known, saying the homes should be for people who can speak Welsh, reports North Wales Live.
Botwnnog community council said that due to "high demand in the area for second homes, short-term accommodation and the power of the tourist trade has led to a substantial influx of non-Welsh speakers to the area for decades.
"This has led to a major decline in the percentage of Welsh speakers in the nearby communities of Llangïan/Abersoch. This degenerative force does not recognise boundaries.”
"As we know, it only takes the presence of a few non-Welsh speaking people to turn the community's language of communication from Welsh to English.
"The lesson from the history of many Welsh communities is that this is not likely to happen."
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Responding to the letter, the applicants stated that the occupiers "can be expected to be local people, and thus the population of the development will have the same Welsh Language characteristics as the local population as they will be drawn from it.
"As such, impact upon the language will be nil or at most very modest, and certainly not sufficient to be materially harmful to the language."
However, the community council asked for a definition of the term local. They said: "Is it Botwnnog? Is it Dwyfor? Is it Gwynedd? Is it North Wales? Is it for someone who has always lived in Llŷn, or someone who moved here two or three years ago, or even a decade or longer, but has not made an effort to learn Welsh, the language of the community?
"It would be great if the availability of the proposed houses could be limited to Welsh speakers only."
The matter is due to come before the council’s planning meeting on September 9.
