Several prominent Welsh people have signed a petition calling on the Government to halt local housing plans in an effort to strengthen the Welsh language.Among the people who have signed the petition are writers Dewi Prysor, Catrin Dafydd, Angharad Blythe and Dr Mererid Hopwood, and musicians Geraint Lovgreen, Steve Eaves, Ceri Cunnington, Lleuwen Steffan, a Gwyneth Glyn. The high-profile backing reflects concerns the local council plans will lead to unsuitable and unnecessary housing developments as they are not based on the present needs of communities.Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is encouraging its memebrs to sign the petition on the Assembly website before it closes at the end of the month. The petition calls for "all Local Development Plans to be halted immediately in order to bring the level of housing growth in line with genuine local needs." The petition was presented by a number of groups working together to change the current planning system among the supporters are Deffro'r Ddraig and Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society).Hywel Griffiths, communities spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg said:"It is vital that the Assembly Goverment understands the extent of opposition to these Local Development Plans. They will not get to grip with the problems facing communities in Wales. Instead, it's very possible that they will worsen the condition of the Welsh language as significant numbers of unsuitable houses are built."Alun Lenny, a Town Councillor in Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen), who's leading a campaign against building 1,200 houses in the town, added:"Tryweryn was nothing compared to the destruction Local Development Plans could make to communities across Wales. In rural England there's a strong campaign being fought against these type of plans. But there are far more than just green fields hanging in the balance here in Wales. Building thousands of houses, which aren't needed by local people, would promote inmigration to a totally destructive level to the social and linguistic nature of several areas. It will be too late to protest when the bulldozers move in, now is the time to object - including the simple action of signing this online petition."Dr Simon Brooks, from Cardiff University added:"Community sustainability should be at the heart of planning. Sadly, this has not been the case in Wales. Now we have devolution, the days of imposing large housing developments on linguistically-sensitive towns and villages should be over. Housing projections should be based on local need."