Farmers opposed to pylons win the right to have the court case against them heard in Welsh
Martin Shipton
Welsh-speaking farmers who oppose an energy company’s bid to gain access to their land have won the right to have a court hearing held through the medium of Welsh.
Green GEN Cymru wants to enter land owned by 13 farmers in the Llandovery area to undertake survey works for a network of pylons the company wants to erect in west and mid Wales.
But the farmers – all but one of whom are said to be first language Welsh speakers – oppose the project and don’t want Green GEN on their land.
The issue is highly controversial and has attracted much opposition from residents who believe the pylons, as well as windfarms proposed by Green GEN’s sister company Bute Energy, would ruin Wales’ landscape.
Green GEN is now seeking a court order that would enable it to enter the farmers’ land.
Interpreter
A district judge originally ruled that while the farmers could give evidence in Welsh, with an interpreter providing a translation into English, the case did not have to be conducted entirely in Welsh. Green GEN had instructed a barrister who is not a Welsh speaker and much of the documentary evidence is understood to be in English only.
On Monday April 7, the case was due to go ahead in Llanelli Magistrates Court. However, the same district judge who originally said the whole proceedings did not have to be in Welsh changed his mind and adjourned the hearing to a future date when that can happen.
The case has raised concerns among Welsh language activists. Cymdeithas yr Iaith, the Welsh Language Society, said the fact that the farmers did not have an absolute right to have the case heard in Welsh was an insult to the Welsh language and a further example of the need to strengthen the Welsh Language Measure 2011 and extend the rights of the people of Wales to speak Welsh.
Request
As things stand, the Courts and Tribunals Service is not included under the Welsh Language Standards system because the legal system is not devolved. At present, evidence can be given in Welsh in court, but a request must be made for documentation in Welsh and for court proceedings to be held in Welsh. Under the current system, a Judge can decide to accept or reject such requests.
Sian Howys, on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: “This is a completely unacceptable situation which shows that our justice system as it stands discriminates against Welsh speakers. The fact that you have to apply for a court case and for documents in Welsh in the first place means that the Welsh language is treated less favourably, not to mention that the judge has discretion to refuse such an application, which shows that there is a lack of a fundamental right to use the Welsh language. It is clear that Welsh Language Standards need to be imposed on the Courts and Tribunals Service, so that the Welsh language will not be treated less favourably, and so that people don’t have to request or fight for Welsh language services which should be freely and easily available as a right.”
Ms Howys added: “This is not the way to go about ensuring environmental sustainability. Such initiatives should empower local communities and be led from grassroots level instead of serving the interests of big corporations that trample on communities and undermine them with their plans. The Welsh language and the continuity of agricultural communities is as much a part of sustainability as is changing the way we produce electricity. There are already several examples in Wales of renewable energy projects contributing to the prosperity of communities while also creating green energy.”
‘Shocking’
Former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, the MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, was in court to support the farmers. He said: “It’s good that the case will now go ahead in Welsh at a future date. It’s never entirely satisfactory for interpreters to be used in court hearings, because things can be lost in translation.
“But it’s shocking that battles people thought had been won decades ago – with Welsh granted equal status to English – are still having to be fought. Nearly all of the farmers involved are first language Welsh speakers, and they should have an absolute right to have the case heard in Welsh.
“I have written to the Lady Chief Justice about this issue, and believe there is a clear case for Welsh language rights to be strengthened.”
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Everyone in Wales absolutely ought to be entitled to make their representations in any court using the medium of Welsh. But, having said that, I do lack sympathy with people who automatically object to the erection of pylons. My reasons are straightforward enough: I grew up in an area on the outskirts of Greater Manchester’s rural fringe where, for the whole of my young life – and I’ll be 80 this coming summer – there had long been lines of pylons across the local countryside. Because I’d never known anything other, I barely noticed them. Indeed, if I think about… Read more »
I think the general feeling here in Cymru is the fact that these pylons will be mainly used to carry electricity to England. There is no benefit to Cymru whatsoever. It’s take take take all the time without any gratitude of any kind. If we object they throw their toys out of their prams and offer threats in return. They think that because they overpowered Cymru over 700 years ago they have eternal dominance over us. However, it took them 200 years to do so with an army that outnumbered us 20-1. Fair or not? Don’t forget that what is… Read more »
‘… these pylons will be mainly used to carry electricity to England.’
I don’t pretend to have a confident and authoritative grasp around the logistics of transmitting electricity, but from what I’ve read and heard so far my impression is that the windfarms proposed will be in Powys and the transmission lines of pylons will go from there down into Carmarthenshire – further into Wales rather than in the direction of England.
But I’m open to correction by anyone who understands the science of electricity transmission better than I do!
Quote: “The proposed pylons in Powys, part of the Vyrnwy Frankton Project by Green GEN Cymru, are intended to connect proposed wind farms in Mid Wales to the existing electricity network at Lower Frankton in Shropshire, facilitating the transmission of renewable energy to the grid.”
You’re evidently more on top of the intricacies of this project than I am!
But if the windfarms are in Powys and are designed to feed into the grid via Lower Frankton, I’m still left wondering what the purpose of new power lines into Carmarthenshire might be – other than facilitating the power supply into south-west Wales.
The power lines into Carmarthenshire will be to send power out of Cymru/Wales not in. Pylons are to be built in advance of proposed further development to generate electricity in West Wales. More solar panels, more onshore and offshore turbines. There will be so many solar panels you’ll have to permanently wear sunglasses to avoid glare! Quote: “The new pylons and substation at Llandyfaelog, Carmarthenshire, are designed to send energy out, specifically to transport clean, green energy from renewable generators in Wales to the national transmission network.” All outside developers of course. They don’t want such activity in their own… Read more »
Incorrect. Power will feed into the grid somewhere in Sir Gar for transmission onwards into the big markets east of Offa’s Dyke. Enough juice is already generated on a good day to feed Wales’ needs twice over. On a bad day you are back on fossils !.
‘Enough juice is already generated on a good day to feed Wales’ needs twice over. On a bad day you are back on fossils !’ I think that’s on the whole a fair comment. And it’s why, inevitably, we’ll necessarily be in part reliant on fossil fuels for quite some time yet. But, if we want to avoid the fate which seems to have long ago befallen the Easter Islanders, we need to take such steps as we can to combat climate change. Otherwise the likely predicted fate of Fairbourne in Gwynedd will be something that quite a few other… Read more »
Online articles would have you believe that all this is for the benefit of Cymru/Wales when the educated amongst us know quite well that it isn’t. We have seen similar before when beautiful Welsh valleys were flooded to provide water for England….. FOR FREE!!!! No financial benefit for us, not one penny. Outsiders make all the financial gains.
Unfortunately the impact of climate change looks set to be indiscriminate.
Whether we’re Welsh, English, Greek, Chinese, Peruvian or from Tonga or Tahiti, we’ll all be impacted – some sooner, some later, some more so, some less. But all of us in course of time, inexorably.
Reminds me of Tom Lehrer, long ago and in another context: ‘We’ll all go together when we go …’
Brilliant that the case will allow people to speak their first language, but ridiculous that this wasn’t a given in the first place. There were 8 lawyers from a large London law firm representing Green GEN, and one representing the farmers. Truly a David and Goliath battle. Why can’t Green GEN listen to the communities and put the powerlines underground, and the problem goes away. Oh yes, less (potential) profit to spend on one of the most expensive law firms in the UK, and less profits for their overseas shareholders. Thank you, not, Labour Senedd for supporting Goliath, and thank… Read more »
New wind farms are being proposed off the coasts around Wales. These will provide enough energy for 4 million homes. There aren’t 4 million people in Wales, never mind 4 million homes. This is in addition to the huge amount of wind farms and solar farms that are already here. The electricity generated is definitely not needed by Wales, it is part of the extraction economy that we in Wales live in
And don’t forget to add to that all the onshore wind farms and “energy parks” that are being proposed. The CEO of Ofgem has already hinted at it, and the truth is beginning to dawn – the people of rural Wales are being prepared for “life” living within the future industrial-scale power station of south east England. If it makes a few billion for carpet bagging private investors along the way, all well and good.
Excellent summary of the prospects for rural Wales. Back in the good old days carpetbaggers were exposed to all sorts of risks financial and mortal. Nowadays they are safeguarded by government especially since Milliband got his massive budget allocation