‘Reversing the tide against the Welsh language in our communities’, is the language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg’s description of the Planning Bill they launched in the Senedd in Cardiff today.
The Property and Planning Bill, drafted by the language pressure group, outlines a package of changes in order to protect Welsh speaking communities as well as expanding its use in every part of Wales.
The launch comes after the Welsh Government published a draft bill that doesn’t include a single reference to the language, despite all the emphasis on its importance in the “Cynhadledd Fawr” - the Government’s own consultation on the state of the Welsh language.
Among the proposals in Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Bill launched today are plans to:
- make the language a material planning consideration across Wales so that planning applications can be rejected on grounds of language impact;
- make language impact assessments compulsory on developments above a certain size;
- establish a Planning Tribunal for Wales, in place of the present Planning Inspectorate;
- establish a Welsh Language Development Continuum so the Welsh language becomes the main community language right across the country; and
- establish satisfying local needs as the purpose of the planning system, instead of meeting national housing targets based on historic patterns
Speaking ahead of the launch, Toni Schiavone, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg Sustainable Communities’ spokesperson commented: “Our Bill offers the chance for the Welsh Government to show they’re serious about ensuring a future for Welsh speaking communities and people’s ability to live in Welsh. Now is the time for Assembly Members from every party to show they’re serious. It’s essential the Welsh language is made a statutory consideration in planning, so the language thrives over the years to come.
“Our proposals attempt to put the interests of communities first in order to tackle poverty as well as the problems facing the language and the environment. We have called for the planning system to be reformed as part of the six policy changes needed to deal with the crisis revealed by the Census results. We have now put our ideas, a number of them new and innovative, in the form of a Bill. “
A large number of housing developments have been in the news recently because of their effect on the language, such as planning applications for housing in Penybanc, Bethesda and Bodelwyddan. The number of communities where more than 70% of the population speaks Welsh has seriously declined over the last twenty
years, from 92 in 1991 to 39 in 2011.
Robin Farrar, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, added: “We are keen to hear the opinion of people up and down the country on our draft proposals, in order to offer a vision of the type of system which would work for our communities instead of undermining them. We’re confident our document is more compatible with the needs of communities than the Government’s bill. This shows Cymdeithas has its finger on the pulse of the wishes and aspirations our various communities.”