https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...c-dam-21020442

Hundreds of campaigners headed out to the site near Bala



Hundreds of people formed a line along Tryweryn dam in Gwynedd on Saturday, July 10 to underline their stand against housing market forces they claim are undermining both the Welsh language and communities.

Campaigners joined forces for the Cymdeithas yr Iaith rally along the 600-metre dam, near Bala, with musician Dafydd Iwan speaking to the crowds.

Menna Machreth, founder of Llety Arall, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS and Cian Ireland, the former Labour candidate for the Dwyfor-Meirionnydd constituency, also addressed the campaigners.

Leading figures from the world of culture, politics and business are calling on the Welsh Government to “act urgently and radically to ensure that local communities can control the housing market and the planning process in order to ensure homes for their people".

Mabli Siriol Jones, national Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: “It was good, we have had more than 1,000 people here. It shows how many people wanted to come and make a stand.

“There is not a community in Wales who is not affected by the situation. The prices have been going up in the pandemic - Wales has the fastest growing house prices in the UK over the past year.

“In Grangetown in Cardiff, house prices there have exploded in recent years.





“The problems caused by the housing market manifest themselves differently in different areas, but the result is the same: that young people are unable to find homes in their own communities.

“The people present at the Tryweryn Rally will be calling on the Welsh Government to take serious action for social justice and to secure the survival of Welsh as a community language.

“We don’t need more pilots, consultations and statements without substance from the Welsh Government. What we need is action.

“As urgent steps, we’re calling for the introduction of a tax on tourism, on landlords’ profits and on second houses, and for the money raised to be invested in bringing empty and second houses back into community use.





“We are also calling for a Property Act to be introduced that will ensure community control over the housing market and the planning process, for a change in the definition of affordable homes, for controls to be introduced on house and rent prices, and for a cap to be introduced on the number of holiday houses in any given community.”

She added: “We already have the answers, what we now need is political will.

“This is an opportunity for the Government to listen and ensure a home for everyone, as well as strong, Welsh-speaking communities in all parts of the country.”





The rally was staged following the plan by the Welsh Government to consult and develop a pilot in order to tackle the effects of high house prices on communities and the Welsh language.

Welsh pressure group Cymdeithas yr Iaith have branded the proposals as “vague and uninspiring” and “the latest example of the Government remaining complacent while there is a crisis in the housing market across Wales".