A CEREDIGION scheme which made anyone wanting to change their new home’s name from a Welsh name to an English one wait 10 days and “reconsider” has been praised by the Welsh Place-Name Society.

The policy, introduced in 2015, urged incomers to the county to keep their new home’s name to show “respect for local traditions”, to “ease the integration process” and help “strengthen relations with the community”.

Anyone informing Ceredigion council of their intention to rename their home is now sent a standardised letter urging them to reconsider and giving them a “10-day respite period” to change their minds and to “consider the context of changing [the] property’s name”.

The scheme has also seen incomers to the county changing existing English names of houses to Welsh, the council said.

In 2016/17, Ceredigion council said that 93 applications were received for naming new houses in Welsh, and 17 applications to name new houses in English.

While 28 applications were received to change the name of a house from English to Welsh – just seven applications were made to change a home’s name from Welsh to English.

Welsh Place-Name Society chairman, Professor David Thorne, said that Ceredigion council’s good practice is “to be applauded.”

Ceredigion council leader Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn said: “Ceredigion’s Welsh- speaking neighbourhoods and bilingual communities are the basis of its culture and daily life, with the county being one of the strongholds of the Welsh language.

“It is wonderful to see examples of non-Welsh-speaking residents, who have recently moved to the area, applying to change the name of their English property to the Welsh Language.

“Their reasoning for doing this is to support the local traditions and to form a bond with the local community, which we value greatly.”

A council spokeperson said: “The council recognises its duty to safeguard the Welsh language within its communities, and to promote and facilitate the language in all aspects of the social and economic life of Ceredigion.

“The council believes that respecting the names and traditions of Welsh can streamline the integration process and strengthen positive links within the community.

”The strategy to retain Welsh house names is part of Ceredigion council’s wide-ranging Welsh Language Policy updated in the wake of the 2011 Census results which revealed that Welsh speakers in the county – a traditional stronghold for the Welsh language – fell below 50 per cent for the first time.”