The Ceredigion Area of Cymdeithas yr Iaith has sent a letter to Carwyn Jones, Minister for the Environment, Planning and Rural Areas of the Welsh Assembly Government, today to highlight their concerns about the conclusion of the Public Inquiry held into Ceredigion's Unitary Development Plan.

Huw Lewis, Cymdeithas spokesperson said:"This is an Inquiry which had the interests of the Welsh language at the heart of its deliberation - indeed it is unlikely that any other inquiry involved with planning matters has given such consideration to the language. Yet we believe that the deliberation of the independent inspectors has been extremely superficial.""We do not state this as a specific criticism of the work of the inspectors themselves. Rather our concern is that the superficial nature of the deliberation stems from a more basic weakness in the planning system generally. Cymdeithas yr Iaith has been involved in campaigning in planning matters in many areas of Wales and we have come to the conclusion that the present planning system does not include the necessary mechanisms to deal satisfactorily with the needs of the Welsh language.""This is a serious situation, which has serious implications for the sustainability of Welsh on a community level. Indeed it is a situation which comes into direct conflict with the Welsh Assembly Government's stated commitment in its policy document 'Iaith Pawb' to halt the decline in the numbers of naturally Welsh-speaking communities. We therefore ask you to urgently meet with a deputation from Cymdeithas to discuss this serious situation."