A FURIOUS Dolgellau councillor has slammed the Welsh Government for “disregarding” the Welsh language.

New housing planning procedures – known as The TAN20 (Technical Advice Note) – is “weak with no teeth”, according to Gwynedd Council leader Dyfrig Siencyn with guidance for housing planners “extremely unclear when trying to interpret parts of the legislation on housing planning applications and their impact on the Welsh language”.

“The Welsh Government has disregarded the comments made by Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey Councils, when we responded to the Government’s consultation on the Technical Advice Note 20: the Welsh language, when planning housing,” said the Plaid leader in Gwynedd.

“It is ironic, to say the least, that the Welsh Government ignores the views of elected members who represent grassroot communities. It is even more bizarre, that the Welsh Government ignores the views of councils who work in Welsh-speaking strongholds, areas where we are experts in promoting and developing Welsh-speaking communities.”

The major concern of Gwynedd’s Plaid Cymru councillors is that there is a complete contradiction within the Planning Act that makes the interpretation of the Act for developers unclear.

There is also concern that there is no definition or guidance from the Welsh Government in the TAN20 setting out an area of ??linguistic sensitivity and there is no consistency in the terms used both in the Technical Advice Note that will be used alongside that of the Planning Act.

Cllr Siencyn continued: “We are convinced that the TAN20 should make it abundantly clear that the applicant seeking a house development application has a duty to show how the impact of that building and any repercussions affects the Welsh language and the community when creating the proposal.

“TAN20 does not offer any guidance on how to make consistent quality language assessments, although other Technical Advice Notes offer a definite methodology about how to deal with different elements, such as affordable housing, calculating Land Bank etc. Further evidence that the Government does not give appropriate attention and detail to the Welsh language’s position within Wales.

“We are currently producing relevant Supplementary Planning Guidance that will provide much more detail and standard guidance for housing developers to follow, than is included in the TAN20.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “TAN 20 provides extensive advice to local planning authorities on the type of evidence that can and should inform areas of linguistic sensitivity or significance, including Welsh-medium education provision and demand. The role of the Welsh Government is to set national planning policies. Local Planning Authorities are best placed to develop policies and take decisions affecting their local area.”