A leading language group has urged Cardiff Council to place the Welsh language at the heart of city life at the launch of its "Siarter Caerdydd" (Cardiff Charter) in Tafwyl today.

In the bold policy document the Cardiff branch of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg makes a series of suggestions on how the council and other bodies can improve the state of the Welsh language and the sustainability of communities in the city. Cymdeithas suggest that the council scrap the current Local Development Plan and, instead, adopt policies which consider the Welsh language in the wake of new planning legislation recently passed in the Assembly.

The organisation has raised concerns about new developments in the city which ignore the Welsh language, such as the English-only sign at Queen Street station and cuts to libraries and youth activities. Other calls throughout the document are the proposal that each ward of the city should have at least one Welsh medium primary school - and that there should be a new Welsh secondary school by 2020. The policy document also raises concerns about the impact of austerity and cuts on the Welsh language and other groups in Cardiff.

Commenting on the consultative draft of Siarter Caerdydd which will be launched in Tafwyl, Carl Morris, the chair of Cardiff's local branch of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg said: "The document is a challenging one but necessary if we are to see Cardiff develop as a genuinely Welsh language city. We cannot continue treating the Welsh language as if it is something peripheral - the language is for everybody. Cymdeithas are confident that the Leader of the Council [Phil Bale], and the council as a whole across the parties, want to further improve the state of the language.

“The council has already stated that they want to develop a 'truly bilingual Cardiff', but there are a number of weaknesses in their current policies and how they operate, particularly in planning. There are also lessons for other institutions in the city, such as universities, in the document. It's our hope that Siarter Caerdydd is a starting point for our journey towards making the language a increasingly central part of everyday life in our capital city.”