Tory MS lambasts Eryri name change despite ‘positive’ report

Emily Price

A Conservative MS has criticised Wales’ largest national park after a decision to reclaim its Welsh name was hailed a success.

Eryri National Park Authority voted to use Yr Wyddfa for Wales’ highest mountain, rather than Snowdon, and Eryri, rather than Snowdonia in November 2022 following a petition from local residents.

A new report presented to park authority councillors on Wednesday (November 13) concluded that the use of the Welsh name had been “positive”.

Councillors approved a proposal this afternoon to exclusively use “Eryri” in its official logo.

Resources

Aberconwy MS Janet Finch Saunders says that although the official name had been altered, the national park would still be known as “Snowdonia”.

She said: “In a time when every authority in Wales is struggling financially, allocating resources to shift from being bilingual to Welsh would not have been my priority.

“Similarly, spending resources on rebranding in this current climate is not the best use of limited taxpayers’ resources. Is it going to help Wales reach the target of 1 million speakers by 2050? I think not.

“What would help is building more social and affordable homes within the National Park, and having Small Modular Reactors at Trawsfynydd, so that local young people have high paid jobs to take up in the area, and homes they can afford to buy and raise a family in.”

Nearly 4 million people visit the oldest and biggest of Wales’ three national parks every year to explore its towering peaks and beautiful valleys.

Today’s report stated that Eryri’s rebrand reinforced “cultural values” and increased the “visibility of the Welsh identity” by encouraging visitors to learn basic Welsh language skills.

Councillors heard that the change aligned with broader efforts to protect indigenous and native place names worldwide, positioning Eryri as part of a “progressive movement”.

The report concluded that the national park should continue to only use only “Eryri and Yr Wyddfa” in “all instances of communications that are not deemed to be statutory or legal purposes”.

Challenges

But the report also noted a several challenges and areas which required improvement.

Councillors heard how “anti-Welsh sentiment” had been stirred up on social media creating “tension” which detracted from the authority’s messaging.

The report suggested that this contributed to a “lack of understanding” with visitors mistakenly believing the names were new. This in turn contributed to “resistance and confusion”.

The rebrand also caused issues with the park’s visibility as many people continue to search for “Snowdon” and “Snowdonia” online.

The park authority’s current logo which uses the English name was partially blamed for this confusion because it had created “inconsistency”.

The report recommended that the design should be updated to align with the Welsh-only naming approach – a suggestion agreed by councillors today.

It also suggested pronunciation guides to help non-Welsh speakers who “often struggle to pronounce the names”.

Top destination

Eryri was recently named as one of Lonely Planet’s top European destinations to visit in the winter alongside the Bavarian Alps and Lapland.

Janet Finch Saunders pointed out that in the article, the travel guide publisher had referred to the national park as “Snowdonia” instead of using the Welsh name.

She said: “The official name may have changed, but Snowdonia is still widely used across the world.”

Bannau Brycheiniog National Park also chose to stop using its English name “Brecon Beacons” in official signage and literature last year.

The authority said the decision would instil “a stronger sense of Welsh identity” into the area whilst coinciding with a “new era” for the protected landscape.