Written question WQ99080
- Asked by
- Gwyn WilliamsPlaid
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 10 days
Question
Will the Cabinet Minister ensure that developers adopt local, Welsh names for housing and other projects in consultation with local authorities, the Welsh Language Commissioner and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning (Siân Gwenllian)
Responsibility for naming streets and housing developments rests with local authorities,usually the local highway authority, within the relevant legislative framework.
While Welsh Ministers do not have a direct role in these decisions, we work with local authorities and partners to promote good practice, including encouraging engagement with the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Place Names Standardisation Panel when new developments are being named. Statutory guidance encourages local authorities to employ historic place names as the basis for the naming of new streets or other developments whenever possible. When considering an application from a developer for new place naming, the local authority should consult the list of historic place names. The curator of the List of Historic Place Names can provide assistance to local authorities and developers.
We are also working to strengthen how we safeguard local Welsh and historic place names in general.