MARKS and Spencer has insisted that its ‘Foodhall’ brand will not be translated outside its Aberystwyth store after the company became embroiled in a row with councillors.

The company is due to open its new store on 23 March, and has submitted a separate planning application to Ceredigion County Council for the exterior ‘M&S Foodhall’ sign.

The company was forced to withdraw it from a previous application after planning committee members insisted on attaching a condition, forcing M&S to translate the sign – despite it being a brand name similar to the Next Home sign at its Aberystwyth store which is un­translated, and not translated on any of its stores worldwide.

There is no planning law that would force the company to translate exterior signs.

While inside the store all the directional signs will be fully bilingual, ‘M&S Foodhall’ is a “registered trademark of the Marks and Spencer business”, the company said.

“The legislation surrounding the use of Welsh language currently only applies to public sector bodies and private sector companies in gas electricity, postal and railway industries,” Laura Mellon from M&S said in a letter to Ceredigion council.

“At a more local level, the policy basis for Ceredigion seeking bilingual signs is more about promoting, encouraging and enhancing bilingual signs and linguistic character rather than requiring bilingual signs."

Aberystwyth Town Council said in response to the new application that it stood by its objection and that it “expects the Welsh to be at least as prominent as the English” on the sign.

See this week’s Aberystwyth edition for the full story, in shops and online now