MORE than 50 people turned out to a public meeting to support a campaign to fight the closure of HMRC’s only Welsh-language call centre in Porthmadog.

In December, HM Revenue & Customs announced that it is to close all tax offices in Wales outside Cardiff, which includes Ty Moelwyn in Porthmadog, which would result in a loss of over 20 jobs.

Porthmadog Town Council has voiced its strong opposition towards the closure and a campaign has been set up to save the office.

A public meeting was recently organised by the town council to rally support behind the campaign, which was attended by over 50 people, including local councillors and community leaders from the Welsh Assembly and Westminster.

Cllr Jason Humphreys, who represents Porthmadog East on Gwynedd Council, spoke at the meeting. He said: “As we’re talking, the Coliseum is being dismantled slate by slate and this perfectly represents what’s been happening to Porthmadog.

“Our hopes, aspirations and the very foundations of our local economy are being taken away, bit by bit.

“We’ve lost jobs in Gelert and more losses have recently been announced at Trawsfynydd.

“Twenty jobs were moved only last month from Porthmadog to Bangor because of the Assembly’s centralising policies.

“At one time, 60 people worked at Ty Moelwyn and we’re about to lose the 20 that still remain. What’s the point of moving Welsh language service jobs from a precarious Welsh-speaking community?

“Things will either have to change or we’ll end up losing the Welsh language in Porthmadog.”

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