Former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley has backed Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg's campaign to change the Welsh Government's Planning Bill in order to strengthen the language at a community level.
The Government's proposed law was published earlier this month, and angered language campaigners by ignoring the Welsh language and centralising planning powers in Cardiff. Language pressure group Cymdeithas yr Iaith has published its own alternative plans and is calling for a Bill which:
- States that the purpose of the planning system is to manage land in a way which is sustainable environmentally, tackles poverty and promotes the Welsh language;
- Assesses local needs as a starting point and certain foundation for development plans, rather than housing targets which are based on national population projections;
- Ensure that developments impacts on the Welsh language are assessed;
- Gives legal power for councillors to consider the Welsh language when accepting or rejecting plans, by making the Welsh language a statutory material consideration;
- Establish a Planning Tribunal for Wales to which communities can appeal
Giving his support to Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg's campaign, Dafydd Wigley said: "I'm pleased to support the society's campaign to ensure the Planning Bill reflects the needs of Wales, rather than the system we've inherited from Westminster. Given Carwyn Jones is responsible for the language, one would have expected him to make it a central part of the Bill, rather than ignoring it. As a country, we need to move forward confidently, the Welsh language could, in time, be the main community language right across Wales with a framework which benefits it.
"The Welsh language belongs to every part of Wales already, Welsh speaking communities and their prosperity are essential for the language across the whole of Wales, because the survival of the language depends on areas where Welsh is the main language. The legislation must base the system on local needs, which the Welsh language a central consideration for it, if it's to be a Bill for Wales, our communities and our people instead of simply being convenient for the administrators."
Tamsin Davies, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith's Sustainable Communities Group added: "We are very grateful of receiving Dafydd Wigley's support, someone among hundreds of others who realise the importance of this Bll to the vibrancy of the language in our communities. We will be meeting the Welsh Government and politicians from every party over the next weeks to press for changes to the Bill for the benefit of the Welsh language an our communities."