Call for law to protect place names is rejected

THE Welsh Government has rejected calls for a new law to protect historic place names, arguing goodwill and current initiatives are already working.

- CHRIS HAINES

Favouring persuasion rather than enforcement, Mark Drakeford unveiled a four-point plan, including guidance for councils and a tool for the public to record historic names.

The former first minister pointed to research showing properties in Wales are at least three times more likely to be renamed from English to Welsh than vice versa.

He told the Senedd his approach was driven by the same anxieties that motivated past campaigns, saying: “The same concern lay behind the research commissioned by this government, research on current trends in relation to changes to place names in Wales.”