Rally for ‘the future of Welsh-speaking communities’ planned
A ‘Nid yw Cymru ar Werth’ (Wales is not for Sale) rally which aims to ensure that the future of Welsh communities “is a priority” for Welsh politicians ahead of the next Senedd election in 2026 has been arranged for the spring.
Among the speakers at the rally to be held in Nefyn on Saturday, 29 March in Pen Llŷn, will be Walis George from Cymdeithas yr Iaith, Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and leader of her party in Westminster and the poets Ieuan Wyn and Myrddin ap Dafydd.
The rally comes as the movement calls on the Welsh Government to adopt and act on the recommendations of Professor Seimon Brooks’ Welsh Communities Commission which were published last August and for them to start preparations to establish the legal right to adequate housing through a Property Act in the next Senedd term.
“Crisis”
Jeff Smith, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Sustainable Communities Group, said: “The indifference and inaction of our government doesn’t match the crisis that communities all over Wales are facing due to the threat of the open housing market.
“The work of securing their future and solving the housing crisis must be a priority for our politicians, in order to empower local communities to have influence over their own future and to provide housing and work for their people.
“That can start to happen this Spring with the implementation of the recommendations of the Welsh Communities Commission, paving the way for a Property Act as a priority early in the next Senedd term in 2026 to ensure that houses are homes, not financial assets.”
Meeting
The rally will be followed by a public meeting to discuss community-led housing. During this meeting, the community initiative Antur Aelhaearn will launch its plan to provide homes for local people, and there will be an open discussion with representatives of local initiatives.
Jeff Smith added: “The significance of Nefyn as a location is that this is the pilot area of the Welsh Government’s ‘Welsh-speaking Communities Housing Scheme’, and it is also a recognition of the boost that Nefyn Town Council and Hawl i Fyw Adra [Right to Live at Home] campaign have given in the struggle to secure housing for local people.
“We invite people from all over Wales to come to this small town that sets an example for us all by fighting for the future of their community.”
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Isn’t it dreadful that the author has to translate, in parenthesis, what ‘Nid yw Cymru ar werth’ means! What other country on the planet has to explain/translate to the people what their own language means? So embarrassing.
At least it’s better than it was in earlier years, I’d say. When I first came from north-west England to live in Wales just over sixty years ago, the Welsh language was almost wholly absent from the public sphere, even though I’d moved into a town absolutely unambiguously in y Fro Cymraeg. Other than cursory nods towards the language by large institutions – I recall Y Banc Barclays on the plaque by the door of a certain bank – but otherwise almost the only Welsh signage which I saw was on the notice-boards of places of worship and on ephemeral… Read more »