A housing developer on Anglesey has been criticised for advertising that they have "renamed" a property that initially had a Welsh language name. Anglesey Homes announced on their Twitter page that they had changed the name of a property from Gwel-Yr-Wyddfa to 9 Sandy Retreat.
The property, which is based in Llanfaelog on the island, has a view of Wales' highest peak, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), which was evident in its original name that loosely translates to 'A View of Yr Wyddfa' in Welsh. But on Wednesday afternoon Anglesey Homes announced that the name had been changed.
They posted: "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?"
Read more: Welsh road sign spotted being used in Coventry
The name-change has sparked a furious response online, with Plaid Cymru politican Rhun ap Iorwerth asking the business: "Is erasing the Welsh language / culture a part of your business plan?"
The Anglesey politician said: "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?"
Another Twitter user, called Dylan Wyn, described the name-change as "ethnic cleansing". Nev Evans believed that the rename was "not acceptable and very disrespectful" while Lisa Parry responded with: "I genuinely don’t get why you’d do this. The disrespect aside, a lot of English people I know are now refusing to book cottages in Wales with English names because they assume they’ve been changed and they hate it too. We were going to book with you soon. And now we won’t."
Richard Martin was also unhappy with the housing developer's decision and said: "Embarrassing folks. This isn't a good idea, it's a bad idea. De-Welshing is something that belongs in the 19th century past, not the 21st century present." Anglesey Homes has been approached for a comment.
READ NEXT:
Children grow up in poverty in the shadow of Wales' greatest wealth
The most polluted areas of Wales revealed
Welsh independence march planned for the first time since pandemic
'The UK needs to rejoin the Single Market — Brexit is failing Wales'
Lessons in schools and better access to condoms planned to cut cases of HIV in Wales
