Plan to halt Welsh decline in language's heartlands

by Evan

Welsh-speaking communities will receive more support after calls for a "radical shift" to stop the language's decline.

Under Welsh government plans, there will be better access to education in Welsh and more guidance on the language across a range of areas, including housing, the economy, community development and education.

The support will be targeted in heartland areas with more than 40% of Welsh speakers, in counties such as Anglesey, Gwynedd, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Welsh Language Secretary Mark Drakeford said the government would use planning powers to "re-balance the board" between second home owners and those who wish to buy their first home in those communities.

Gwynedd has an estimated 93,600 Welsh speakers and Carmarthenshire has 93,300, according to the Welsh government's annual survey.

Plans come after the recommendations of a Welsh government commission in 2022 to halt the decline of Welsh speakers and its report made 60 suggestions to support the language in its traditional "heartlands".

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