Indigenous Place Names

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 7 February 2018.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 1:59, 7 February 2018

(Translated)

Thank you very much for that response. Place names, of course, are a part of our heritage. It’s important to celebrate them, but, more importantly, it’s important to use them. We all know of examples of names that have been changed. I heard this week about 'Sausage island' on Anglesey. That's Ynyslas. I hope that everyone will vote for one of the best beaches in Wales in the Countryfile BBC competition, but it’s not 'Newborough beach' that’s the name of the beach on the shortlist, but Llanddwyn, one of our most iconic beaches. And truth be told, the picture that’s used by Countryfile is of Penrhos beach, which is the other side of Llanddwyn island. 

There's a list of them: Porth Trecastell, Porth Swtan, Porth Llechog—not Cable Bay, Church Bay and Bull Bay. I genuinely believe that trying to return to the use of those indigenous names can be something that adds value to our tourism offer for people who come here to Wales. I would have liked the legislation to safeguard place names rather than just having registers. But considering the warm words that we heard from you, as Minister, what steps can the Government take? What steps are you willing to take to try to persuade us to go back to using these historic, indigenous names?