Cymdeithas yr Iaith have accused Gwynedd Council of having an "obsessive desire" against all the odds to close a rural school where 91% of the villagers are Welsh-speaking. Officers are recommending to the Council Board at their meeting next Tuesday (26/7) that the Council should spend almost £1million from its own funds to enable it to issue a Closure Notice to close Ysgol Y Parc near Bala following the Welsh Government's decision not to fund a planned re-organisation as proposed at present. Board members are being asked to authorise the spending of the Council's own money to extend nearby Ysgol Syr O.M. Edwards in Llanuwchllyn in order to close Ysgol Y Parc.Cymdeithas claim that this is contrary to the decision made by the full Council regarding re-organising education in the Penllyn area. Cymdeithas also deplore the attempt to push this through the board just before the Summer Holidays rather than refer the matter back to the full Council so that elected members could fully consider the new situation.Cymdeithas Education spokesperson, Ffred Ffransis, explained:"By a small majority, Gwynedd Councillors were convinced that Ysgol Y Parc had to be sacrificed in order to draw down a £10m investment in Bala Schools from the Welsh government, but that has now changed completely as the Government is asking Councils to re-submit bids in a totally new format. Councillors also agreed to foot 25% of the bill for the total development for the Bala area, but any re-submitted bid will now involve the commitment to find 50% of the total cost, and the Council are being asked to find 100% of the total cost of this part of the development. This is not what the elected councillors voted for, and it is deplorable that there is an attempt to rush this through the Council's Board without referring the totally new situation back to the full Council for decision."Mr Ffransis added:"It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - especially in the current economic climate - to spend a million pounds of the Council's own money in order to make reported savings of around £50,000 per year. This was never agreed, and it would be far cheaper to develop a school to serve the two communities on the two current sites (Llanuwchllyn and Parc) while making savings from an integrated structure. Any money thus saved could be used to faciltate a Federation of the schools in Bala town in order to pave the way for a new bid for a Lifelong Learning Centre. This move by Council officers is so undemocratic and devoid of common sense that one can only surmise that some have an obsessive desire to push through their policy of closing Ysgol Y Parc, whatever the cost may be to the taxpayer.\

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Cycling to the Eisteddfod for the language;2011-07-23 12:00:02;2011/07/23/cycling_to_the_eisteddfod_for_the_language;

Two language activists will cycle over 70 miles to the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham to draw attention to the fate of Welsh language communities.The members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society), Robin Crag and Kali Stuart, will cycle from their home in Nebo, Gwynedd over to the Eisteddfod Maes for a meeting to discuss the future of Welsh as a community language.On their journey from the outskirts of Caernarfon over to the festival's main field they will be visiting a number of communities including Y Parc near Bala while carrying a charter entitled "Tynged yr Iaith: Cymunedau Cymraeg Cynaliadwy" (Fate of the Language: Sustainable Welsh Communities) which will be launched on the Maes.Addressing the meeting on the Tuesday of the Eisteddfod will be a number of community representatives, such as Nia Lloyd from the Deffro'r Ddraig campaign in Wrecsam and Gwenno Puw from the Ysgol y Parc school campaign, along with AM for north Wales Llyr Huws Gruffydd.Speaking before leaving on the trek, Robin Crag said:"The future of the Welsh language as a community language is under threat, and more attention needs paying to protecting and creating sustainable Welsh communities. A number of factors militate against the language on a community level, such as the threats to schools, and the Westminster Government encouraging people to move away from their communities to get work. I'm cycling to the Eisteddfod through a number of different communities, because I believe that every community in the country can be sustainable both environmentally and linguistically." The two cyclists will also go over to the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg gig to present the charter to Bryn Fôn and band, Al Lewis and Daniel Lloyd who are performing Central Station, in the centre of Wrexham that evening. Robin Crag added:"We're grateful to the bands for their support for the charter. Hopefuly a number of people will come to support the campaign for our communities as well as enjoying Bryn Fon's only gig with his full band during the Eisteddfod."Hywel Griffiths, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg's communities spokesperson said:"Earlier this year we published 'Tynged yr Iaith 2' (Fate of the Language 2) which outlines the new challenge for the Welsh language in the decades to come. Almost half a century ago the original Tynged yr Iaith (Fate of the Language) lecture inspired direct action which has secured a future for the language. Despite that, it's likely that this year's census figures will show a major drop in the numbers of Welsh speakers in our communities. We will be launching the 'Tynged yr Iaith: Cymunedau Cymraeg Cynaliadwy' charter and we hope that it'll lay the groundwork for getting to grips with the problem."The charter emphasises that every community in Wales has the potential to be a Welsh language community. We in Cymdeithas, have a vision for sustainable communities in every meaning of the word - economically, environmentally and linguistically."Some tickets are still available for the gig at 8pm Tuesday night of the Eisteddfod - for sale for £9 each online from cymdeithas.org/steddfod and in person from Yales Cafe Wrexham, Awen Meirion, Bala, Elfair Rhuthun, and from Cymdeithas offices in Caernarfon, Aberystwyth and Cardiff..