CLAIMS by the Crown Estate to the rights to mine beneath homes in Pwllheli and Morfa Nefyn have left homeowners deeply concerned.

Letters from the Land Registry have started arriving informing residents that the minerals and mining rights beneath their homes belong to the Crown Estate.

Outraged homeowners have been contacting their local MP, Liz Saville Roberts, to urge her to challenge the notices on their behalf.

Mrs Saville Roberts said: “In the last few days a number of people in the Pwllheli and Morfa Nefyn area have had official letters from the Crown Estate telling householders that the Estate is registering its right to mines and minerals under their homes.

“This has alarmed my constituents and been the cause of great worry for local people with many contacting me to ask me to take the matter up.

“It seems to me that the whole process is stacked against the ordinary citizen and is little more than going through the motions. This is clearly unacceptable.

“I believe that responsibility for the Crown Estates in Wales should be devolved to the Welsh Government so that proper democratic accountability can be established.

“Quite apart from this, staking claim to ‘mine and mineral rights’ reeks of the 19th century not the 21st. There is no place for this kind of approach today.

“Plaid Cymru policy is that control of the Crown Estate should be devolved in Wales. A Welsh government would certainly have taken a different approach, one mindful of our history of grasping, unprincipled landlordism and the fundamental rights of Welsh men and women.”

The MP has requested an urgent meeting with the Land Registry to discuss the matter.

A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: “The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business, created by an Act of Parliament, and tasked to actively manage its assets to enhance their value over the long term and deliver returns to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation’s finances.

“Along with many other landowners, The Crown Estate is in the process of registering historical mineral rights with the Land Registry. These claims are not new and we would like to reassure local residents that the registration process is in no way an indication of our intent to begin mining, which in any event would require planning permission and the surface owners’ consent. It is merely part of a legal process to ensure these historical rights are registered and not lost over time.”