1,500 people mark coronation holiday at Wales Is Not For Sale rally
Despite the rain, an estimated 1500 people attended today’s Nid yw Cymru ar Werth (Wales Not For Sale) rally in Caernarfon.
The protest, which was timed to coincide the the coronation bank holiday, saw those in attendance commit themselves to the future of local communities.
At the rally, Cymdeithas yn Iaith also reiterated its demands for the Welsh Government to introduce a Property Act to regulate the housing market.
They want the legislation to include:
- A right to a home locally
- Plans for local needs
- Empowers local communities
- Prioritises local people
- Controls the rental sector
- Builds sustainable homes
- Invests in communities
Promised
Jeff Smith, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Sustainable Communities Group said: “The Government has promised a Property Act White Paper before the end of this Parliamentary term, but there is no mention of it or the content yet.
“Although the Government has introduced some limited measures to reduce the impact of second homes and holiday accommodation they have not gone to the root of the problem – and they don’t seem to be discussing it.
“We have been calling for a Property Act since the end of the 70s, the need is greater than ever, and now is an opportunity to sort the problem, once and for all – through a Property Act that will regulate the market.”
A spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Nid yw Cymru ar Werth campaign added: “The rally will be a complete contrast to the celebration of privilege and wealth that has happened in London over the weekend.
“In the same way, asking everyone to commit to the future of their communities is in contrast to the request for people to swear an oath to an unelected person.
“We are glad that so many came to the rally today – but it is important that the Minister herself hears today’s message so we are asking people across Wales to commit to the future of our communities and send a clear message to Julie James, the Climate Minister, that a complete Property Act is needed by the end of this Parliamentary term.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Waiting for a Property Act to come out of Westminster is a no win game. The Tory Government consider that sort of legislation ‘Nanny State’ legislation which interferes with the ‘proper’ operation of the Market. To get anything useful we need the Senedd to act, but the Devolution Rules may be such that they are not allowed to control the property market. (Anybody know if the Senedd has such powers?)
As far as I know, all the requests outlined in the article are within the legislative capacity of the Senedd. Housing is devolved, as is the Planning Inspectorate since 2021.
What happens when the representatives of the local people are like the Powys Councillor Iain McIntosh who only represents the english tories.
This is the big one. If you invest in affordable, quality homes, transport links, good education of local people and stop places become ghost towns with too many AirBnB properties, then there is no need to priorities local people.
If you priorities local people only without investing in the community then the community becomes reliant on the state, starts to shrink and eventually starts to die.
There’s nothing stopping developers, second home owners, monarchists, capitalists, rentiers etc etc using the Welsh language and using it to further their aims and agendas.
As you say the “Welsh language belongs to everyone in Wales”. So if these groups are not making use of it perhaps you should ask them why not.