Housing developer hit with hundreds of negative reviews after holiday let name changed to English
A housing developer has been pelted with hundreds of negative reviews online after advertising that a holiday let had been “renamed” from the Welsh language to English.
Over 200 1-star reviews were left for Anglesey Homes after they posted a message on social media advertising bookings saying “We’ve renamed our Gwel-yr-Wyddfa property!”
“It is now known as 9 Sandy Retreat – available for 8 guests, pet friendly, and in the beautiful village of Llanfaelog. Ready to book your stay?”
The company at first attempted to respond to those leaving the reviews, asking one user “have you purchased or rented a property from Anglesey Homes?
“Your review seems to be about a name change to a property that we own, rather than about a purchase or a personal experience you have had with us?” they asked.
However, the reviews continued to flood in, with over 230 people having now left a review, the majority in the one-star bracket and many with messages criticising the renaming. Google does not verify reviewers as having used the property.
We’ve renamed our Gwel-yr-Wyddfa property! 🏡
It is now known as 9 Sandy Retreat – available for 8 guests, pet friendly, and in the beautiful village of Llanfaelog 💛
Ready to book your stay? Check our availability with the link below:https://t.co/aTPDyHlIbh pic.twitter.com/VXB7rDRgg0
— Anglesey Homes (@AngleseyHomes) June 20, 2022
The original online message, which has not been deleted, attracted a backlash on social media, with users including politicians accusing them of “shocking disrespect”.
Ynys Môn Senedd Member Rhun ab Iorwerth responded to ask them whether “erasing the Welsh language” was part of their “business plan”.
“Hi Anglesey Homes. Perhaps you could explain what’s happening here. This is a property at 9 Gwel yr Wyddfa, which you’ve now changed to 9 Sandy Retreat, yes? Is erasing the Welsh language/culture a part of your business plan?”
Anglesey Council Deputy Leader Carwyn Jones also responded to ask “Why on earth would you want to do that?”
Historian of Wales, Martin Johnes of Swansea University, responded to the message to say: “Most Welsh Twitter storms are overreactions to a nobody saying something stupid. This is different.
“Erasing Welsh placenames is wrong and should be illegal. It’s vandalism on a fragile heritage and culture and the anger is justified.”
Nation.Cymru has asked Anglesey Homes to comment on the negative response.
‘Marketed locally’
The property is still listed on Anglesey Homes’ website as ‘9 Gwel-yr-Wyddfa’.
“A newly built property on a new estate, just outside Rhosneigr on the Isle of Anglesey, is 9 Gwel-y-Wyddfa, a detached and contemporary property, ideal for a family or large group wanting to explore Anglesey’s coastline,” the website says.
The company has previously been criticised for the way it has marketed the properties on its website and on social media.
This included a message on their Facebook page in 2019, that read: “Owning a UK holiday home can be a great investment, and a reliable source of income.
“That’s why Anglesey Homes are building apartments and innovative new houses across coastal areas of North Wales that are perfect for new and experienced investors.”
Cymdeithas yr Iaith criticised the company at the time, telling the Daily Post: “This website is clearly focused on selling holiday homes to people from outside the island. The housing market needs a complete overhaul.
“We’re glad that the Welsh Government has allowed local authorities to increase council tax on second homes, but they need to go much further.
“We need a package of measures such as a Property Act to ensure that prices of homes reflect what is affordable to people on local wages.
“Local people should have the first chance to buy homes when they go on the market and they should only be marketed locally.”
A spokeswoman for Anglesey Homes said at the time: “It is not our intention to market the site purely to second home owners.
“We apologise if that is the impression you have taken from our website.
“You will also see that the site is registered with Help to Buy Wales, to assist local people to buy as homes. “
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Keep on trolling! It’s the only language people of their ilk are likely to understand.
I think they actually will be quite happy with all of this- as they say there is no such thing as bad publicity and Sykes and Angelsey Homes will be loving it. Most people who are looking to stay will not be a bit bothered about a name change.
Hate to say it but you’re right – this is clearly being marketed to bigoted English people who would a) be delighted about the name change and b) be delighted that they’ve offended the Welsh, about whom they know nothing, and care even less.
The sort of bigots who would be in favour of this are Boris voting, Daily Hate readers who would support the plan to send refugees to Rwanda – and who would probably want to send the Welsh to Rwanda as well just to get us out of the way to stop inconveniencing them.
Good publicity? Yeh, right.
That’s right Huw – just keep trolling and boosting their ranking on Google with all this incredible free publicity!
That’s right Huw – just keep trolling and boosting their ranking on Google with all this incredible free publicity!
They
They have instagram, leave a comment 🙂
Take a look at the prices on these houses. Cymdeithas yn lygad ei le – mae angen gweddnewid ar y marchnad tai yng Nghymru. We have to legislate on planning laws to ensure that houses are designated primary or secondary residence and allow local councils to set limits on the % of secondary residences in their communities. Houses on the market would have primary residence only stipulated as a condition of sale. Then we might see a change in behaviour from these developers.
There’s an old saying. You make your bed you lay in it.
Look on the bright side, in the olden times, rather than a load of bad reviews, the house would now be a pile of ashes with an empty “England’s Glory” box left prominently outside. Or at the very least covered in red paint!
But I will never use Sykes Cottages again.
Meanwhile in nearby Brynteg an entire housing estate is being built exclusively for holiday use. All houses have a 12 month residency clause on them. Presumably these where in the LDP passed by visionary Cyngor Môn?
Theme park Wales. That’s the route of the problem. Worshiping the golden calf of tourism, which ravages the pastures of Wales but that produces very little milk! Until that stops we will see more and more of this.
“Mor glên am aur gelynion,
Ac mor rad y Gymru hon”!
I have my reservations however if we are to have tourism, I would rather have them buy holiday accommodation on a designated visitor park rather than purchase large swathes of housing within local communities.
Many of the holiday homes on these developments are not suitable as permanent residences.
I live in London and would not want to stay in a place with an English name when I visit Wales
It’s time the Welsh Government woke up to this. It would be easy to legislate for, and this time I would hope to see Welsh Labour voting in favour. What on earth were they thinking of last time it was debated?
money grabbing anglo arse lickers
pathetic. they can call it what they want as they own it!
focus on improving NHS, education and building more homes rather than point scoring and fake nationalism. we Welsh people don’t care about this sort of stuff, we care about health and education and building houses.
sorry to all middle class Welsh speakers on here, but this is the truth
Finally, a voice of commonsense amongst a racist rabble of pitchforks and torches with nothing better to focus on in their lives.
Well done to Anglesey Homes for generating all this wonderful free publicity! I hope you’re laughing all the way to the bank and your house is booked out solid all summer – all thanks to the racist Welsh and the ridiculous uproar they have caused 🙂