Welsh Conservatives lead backlash against Bannau Brycheiniog name change

The Welsh Conservatives have led the backlash against the decision to rename the Brecon Beacons National Park which has been criticised as a symbolic attempt to look “trendy”.

The park’s management claimed the association with a wood-burning, carbon-emitting blazing beacon was “not a good look” as the name was dropped in favour of its ancient Welsh counterpart Bannau Brycheiniog.

But Brecon and Radnorshire’s Tory MP Fay Jones questioned the cost and impact of the “symbolic” rebrand and demanded to know why local people were not consulted.

“I’m amazed that a change of name should be imposed on those who live and work in the National Park without any consultation,” she said.

“I am worried that this is symbolic. This is about looking trendy and jumping on a sustainability bandwagon for PR purposes.”

Downing Street said it expected people to carry on using the Brecon Beacons name and actions “rather than nomenclature” were the key to tackling climate change.

“The public, I’m sure, will continue to … use both the English and the Welsh names,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

“Nomenclature”

Asked if other places called “beacon” should be renamed, the spokesman said: “I think on the specific issue of climate change, I think it’s tangible action that’s important, rather than nomenclature.”

Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies vented his frustration over the name change via Twitter with a post that read: “It’s just a hunch, but I sense the Welsh people won’t think renaming the Brecon Beacons should be a priority.

“The Beacons are as recognisable outside of Wales are they are here. Why undermine that?”

The Welsh name for the region translates as “peaks of Brychan’s kingdom” – a reference to the fifth-century king in the region.

Plaid Cymru applauded the move to drop the English version of the name and welcomed it as a “positive step in normalising the use of Welsh”.

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for the Welsh Language, Heledd Fychan MS said: “From Garn Goch and Carreg Cennen in the west, to the peaks of Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Corn Du – the Welsh language is already central to the Bannau Brycheiniog.

“Plaid Cymru has consistently called on the government to protect Welsh place names in law, and this decision by the National Park is a positive step in normalising the use of Welsh. That’s because, in reclaiming our original Welsh names, we can reclaim our heritage, which is vital if we want our language to continue to play a role in Wales’ futur

Catherine Mealing-Jones, the national park authority’s chief executive said: “Given that we’re trying to provide leadership on decarbonisation, a giant burning brazier is not a good look.

“Our park is shaped by Welsh people, Welsh culture, and as we looked into it we realised the brand we’ve got and the name we’ve got, it’s a bit of a nonsense, it doesn’t really make any sense – the translation Brecon Beacons doesn’t really mean anything in Welsh.

“We’d always had the name Bannau Brycheiniog as the Welsh translation and we just felt we needed to put that front and centre as an expression about the new way we wanted to be celebrating Welsh people, Welsh culture, Welsh food, Welsh farming – all of the things that need to come with us as we go through this change in the management plan.”

But she acknowledged that “people are used to calling the park by the name everyone’s used for 66 years so we don’t expect everyone to use Bannau Brycheiniog, at least straight away”.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats welcomed the news stating that it is a positive move to use the history of the region to help build a successful future for the Park.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Mid & West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds said: “It’s great to see the re-introduction of the name Bannau Brycheiniog today. The message put forward by the Park is a clear example of how we can use the region’s history to build a better future for the park.

“Other countries like New Zealand see the use of their indigenous languages such as Māori as not only key to protecting their history and culture, but also as a key marketing tool. There is no reason we shouldn’t be doing so in Wales.

“Beyond the name change, what has been highlighted by the park today, is that it faces numerous threats, whether that is the Government failing to take action on the sewage dumping crisis, or climate change. It is a clear message to us all that we must unite to protect what is a national treasure.

Liberal Democrat Leader of Powys Council James Gibson-Watt added: “Today marks a new chapter for Bannau Brycheiniog, a chapter where we seek to learn from the past to build a better future for one of the UK’s greatest landscapes.

“This is an important decision in protecting our local culture and history. It is vital that we work to protect this landscape and promote the landscape and communities that live and work within it. That is what I and the Liberal Democrats will continue to push for as the Leader of Powys Council.

“New way”

Welsh actor Michael Sheen, star of The Damned United and Good Omens, filmed a promotional video to celebrate the name change, with words written by poet and author Owen Sheers.

Sheen said he welcomed the “reclamation of the old Welsh name – an old name for a new way of being”.

Wales Green Party Leader, Anthony Slaughter also praised the news.

In a statement he said: “The decision to drop the English name of the National Park and only use the original Welsh name Bannau Brycheiniog is a welcome one and the right thing to do.

“The reclamation of original Welsh names is a positive celebration of the nation’s language and culture, an acknowledgement of the past and a progressive step into the future.”