Cymdeithas yr Iaith has vowed to do everything possible to stop a housing development, which would undermine a Welsh speaking community in the Teifi valley and which makes a total nonsense of planning laws.

On the 20th of December 2007 Carmarthen County Council refused planning permission to an application by a company called Eatonfield to build 50 houses in Pont-Tyweli because (amongst other reasons) the effect such a development would have on the Welsh language. This original application contained a tokenistic amount of "affordable housing". At 1.30pm on Thursday (14/8) Carmarthenshire Council's planning committee will consider another application by the company to build 31 houses on the same site that would simply omit the affordable housing contained in the first application and propose a development of large 4 bedroom houses only. The planning officers recommend accepting this application, even though they admit themselves that the number of houses is far too much for the need locally. Their report to the Scrutiny Committee states:"However, in this case and in such a rural area the number of dwellings proposed is well above the allocation, which will have an effect on the ability of the settlement and the community to absorb such a number of dwellings. Therefore it is considered that the development in terms of its size and scale is greater than that which is required in terms of local need, which is reflected in the number of dwellings Allocated in Pontweli as a total."But since planning permission was granted in 1990 to build 31 houses on the site, and that preparation work has started on the site within a specific period (mainly opening a hole in the verge and clearing an entrance to the new estate - nearly impossible to see by now) the officers say that they have no choice but to accept this application.Cymdeithas yr Iaith's Dyfed Field Officer, Angharad Clwyd, who lives in the village said:"This makes a total nonsense of the whole planning system. We are not going to allow the fate of our Welsh speaking rural communities to be decided by speculative private developers. Carmarthenshire Councillors must stand up for the local people and reject this cynical revised application. Cymdeithas Yr Iaith will certainly do all in our power to place every obstacle in their way.More Info:http://www.sirgar.gov.uk/agendas/cym/PCYN20080814/REP05-04.HTM#P311_11941