Sunday 2 October 2022 02:51 PM Campaigners seek to BAN second home-owners changing Welsh house names to ... trends now Campaigners seek to BAN second home-owners changing Welsh house names to English ones House-sellers are taking legal action to stop the changing of Welsh house names They say the practice is 'culturally damaging' and an 'assault' on Wales's identity Law firm Swayne Johnson have a put a convenant into action that prevents it Mared Williams, a solicitor at the firm, said a house's name tells its history By Hannah Mcdonald For Mailonline Published: 14:46 BST, 2 October 2022 | Updated: 14:47 BST, 2 October 2022 Viewcomments Campaigners want to ban buyers changing the historic Welsh language names of second homes to English ones. House-sellers are taking legal action to ban giving the second homes in Wales a new name because losing traditional Welsh-language house names in countryside destinations is 'culturally damaging'. A new legal protection to prevent historic Welsh house names from being lost has been drawn up by lawyers to curb the changes to English names - such as 'Ty Gwyn' for 'Whitehouse' and 'Cartref' for 'Home'. A petition bidding to stop the swapping out of long-standing Welsh language house names that racked up over 18,000 signatures, was debated at The Senedd in early 2021. Legal firm Swayne Johnson has used a new covenant-based scheme to stop buyers ditching historic and evocative names, many of which date back centuries. Campaigners want to ban buyers changing the historic Welsh language names of second homes to English ones (Pictured: Coloured houses overlooking the harbour in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales) Pictured: Hawl i Fyw Adra pressure group walking from Nefyn to Gwynedd council HQ Caernarfon to raise awareness of the lack of proper regulating of second homes and the lack of safeguards for Welsh communities and language Mared Williams, a solicitor based at Swayne Johnson's Ruthin branch in North Wales, said: 'I have already put this covenant into practice and am proud to play a part in ensuring that the owners of properties with historic names can protect those names for generations to come. 'There are very many house names in Wales that tell the story of the property and are part of the area's local history. 'The house or farm name adds colour and information about the building, the landscape or the people who might have once lived there. 'The name of a property is often an integral part of the story of the place and it's important that historically and culturally important Welsh place names are protected and not lost.' The new scheme, called Diogelwn, meaning We Will Protect, was drawn up by Simon Chandler, of Manchester law firm Chandler Harris, to give legal backing to the preservation of Welsh houses and even place names. Simon, 58, an Englishman who learned Welsh in his 50s, said: 'The idea that people can arbitrarily change the names of houses and places here seems to me to be an assault on the identity of Wales. Pictured: A row of coloured houses along the coast in Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey 'I learned Welsh six years ago when I was already in my 50s and I was inspired to draft this in response to a Twitter appeal by poet and author Sian Northey who asked whether there was any way of protecting the Welsh name of her house that was about to sell. 'I looked at it from the point of view of a specialist in commercial conveyancing, and the scheme essentially enables sellers to put covenants on their properties with language group Cymdeithas yr Iaith as their legal custodian. A condition of the sale is that the new owner agrees that the original name will be retained.' BBC news anchor Huw Edwards has previously voiced his frustration at the practice, writing on Twitter: 'It's been going on for years. So Porth Trecastell became 'Cable Bay' and the historic church of Nantcwnlle - now a private home - became 'Dunroamin'. 'I propose replacing London with its old Welsh name 'Caerludd'. No? Ah. I thought not.' In June, developers in Anglesey were accused of 'shocking disrespect' after a four bedroom house called 'Gwel-yr-Wyddfa' was renamed 'Sandy Retreat'. Gwel-yr-Wyddfa translates roughly as 'Snowdon View'. Mount Snowdon, known as Wyddfa in Welsh, overlooks the area. Angelesey Homes tweeted: 'We've renamed our Gwel-yr-Wyddfa property! 'It is now known as 9 Sandy Retreat – available for 8 guests, pet friendly, and in the beautiful village of Llanfaelog. Ready to book your stay?' But the decision was slammed by local Plaid Cymru Welsh Senedd member Rhun ap Iorwerth who called it 'erasing the Welsh language/culture'. He tweeted the company saying: 'Hi Anglesey Homes. Perhaps you could explain what's happening here. 'This is a property at 9 Gwel yr Wyddfa, which you've now changed to 9 Sandy Retreat, yes? Is erasing the Welsh language/culture a part of your business plan?' Surge in Airbnbs in Wales is forcing renters to move away, spend their savings or face homelessness as number of holiday lets rises by 53%, think tank warns A huge increase in Airbnbs fueled by the trend for staycations has left renters with an 'impossible choice' to move away, spend their savings or facing homelessness, a think tank reports. The Bevan Foundation revealed that holiday lets have surged by 53% from 13,800 in 2018 to 21,718 in May of this year, putting pressure on the housing market. The situation is also getting worse as landlords have no incentives to rent homes outside of Airbnb as they earn an average weekly £710.14 for a one-bedroom property and £2,175.71 for a four-bedroom property in Wales. This means that landlords make in 10 weeks - or 4.8 weeks on Anglesey, where Airbnb prices are among the highest - the same income as they would get through local housing allowance rates. A huge increase in Airbnbs fueled by the trend for staycations has left renters with an 'impossible choice' to move away, spend their savings or facing homelessness, a think tank reports The returns are even quicker for four-bedroom properties where it takes less than six weeks to get the same income as over a year. Local villagers have protested the trend saying people are 'living in caravans or chalets on their parents' land' as it's 'almost impossible' to get a house locally. To tackle the issues, from next year, second homeowners in Wales will face a 300 per cent tax hike in a bid to stop locals being priced out of the country's property market. But holiday cottage landlords have called the move a 'horribly blunt tool' and 'counter-productive'. King Charles III is also 'getting in on the surge in prices for holiday lets' by renting out two of his Llwynywermod estate cottages. The Bevan Foundation revealed that holiday lets have surged by 53% from 13,800 in 2018 to 21,718 in May of this year, putting pressure on the housing market Dr Steffan Evans of the Bevan Foundation also explained it is a recipe for homelessness as just 60 properties across the whole of Wales in August were offered at 'affordable' rents – meaning those who are on benefits can afford them. He said: 'With so few homes to rent for low income households, people are faced with an impossible choice: move out of their community, move into poor quality housing, try to plug the gap between their rent and their benefits by cutting back on food and heating, or become homeless. 'If we are to find a long-term solution to Wales' housing crisis it is vital that work is undertaken to regulate the holiday let sector as well as the private rental sector.' Advertisement Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility