Home » Caernarfon social housing plans spark concerns over potential Welsh language ‘harm’

Caernarfon social housing plans spark concerns over potential Welsh language ‘harm’

The proposed housing development on a vacant site at Dinas, near Caernarfon, has prompted concerns over the Welsh language (Pic: Cyngor Gwynedd Planning Documents)

PLANS to build 16 homes to rent have sparked concerns over a potential for “substantial harm” to the Welsh language. But the council’s Welsh language unit insist the social housing development, near Caernarfon would help boost the use of the language.

Cyngor Gwynedd will consider a full planning application for 16 residential units, with associated access, parking and landscaping on a site at Dinas, in the Llanwnda ward area, on Monday, February 3. A decision will be sought to “delegate the right to the assistant head of the environment department to approve the application”.

Proposals for homes on the site were initially made three years ago but the proposals have seen amendments. The land is opposite an outdoor activities retail outlet and garage on the A487, and beside a property called Talardd. The Welsh Highland Railway passes on one side and the road at the front.

The proposals were submitted by Beech Developments NW Ltd, through agent, Sioned Edwards of Cadnant Planning. Once built, the homes would be in the ownership/management of Adra a registered social housing landlord.

The site was recently used an an informal car park following the demolition of a restaurant and has been empty since the completion of another Adra estate. The latest scheme prompted a strong response from the Llanwnda Community Council.

The council expressed concern at the “relocation of many people who do not speak Welsh to live in the most Welsh of communities, without a system in place for them to assimilate or to support the Welsh language communities to cope”. The community council called for the project to be refused at an extraordinary meeting in December, 2024.

The council said the development would be “contrary to the strategic aim of Llanwnda Community Council of protecting and increasing the use made of the Welsh language. Over 80% of the local population speak Welsh, and therefore the area is significant in terms of use of the Welsh language.

“The communities with a high number of Welsh speakers are becoming scarce, and therefore it is vital that we protect them…,” the council added. Cyngor Gwynedd’s Welsh Language Unit however felt the proposal would actually have “a minor positive impact on the Welsh language in the area”. A report by the applicant noted that 94% of the residents of the nearby Adra development, the Gwel y Foel estate, were Welsh speakers.

“This percentage is much higher than the percentage for the Llanwnda ward at 81%. The majority of the application site is located within the development boundary of the village, with only a small area outside the boundary,” the agent added.

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