Language campaigners have said the changes to Radio Cymru prove there needs to be a new independent broadcaster on top of BBC provision.

Corporation heads had refused to establish a second station before its consultation on Radio Cymru came to an end. Between 1990 and 2002 the BBC more than doubled the number of radio stations which broadcast in English.

Greg Bevan, digital spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, commented: "These changes don’t alter the station’s basic problem: one station can’t meet the needs of the entire audience. We welcome Betsan Powys’ comments about supporting the campaign for another provider. But her comments also underline the lack of ambition and wider vision of the BBC.

“We can’t trust the BBC to ensure a future for broadcasting in Welsh - it has treated Welsh language services as second-rate to the English ones for decades. We will be campaigning for the establishment of a new, additional multimedia broadcaster which is free from the conservatism and lack of ambition of the BBC.”

He added: “We were surprised by the BBC’s decision to hold a review of only one of its radio stations. Welsh language output is not the responsibility of just one radio station but the responsibility of the entire corporation.”

“The initiative ‘Cymru Fyw’ is something that’s happening across all the nations of Britain. We don’t see very much to welcome in the decision not to exempt the Welsh language from having another blog which is running in Britain’s other ‘regions’.”