Rising house prices and a blight of holiday lets are forcing out Welsh speakers and causing local schools to close
- Colin Williams is a professor at Cardiff University’s School of Welsh
Since its height in 1911, when census figures recorded almost a million Welsh speakers aged three and over in Wales, the Welsh language has been in a near-permanent state of crisis. Fewer opportunities to speak Welsh at home and school, coupled with a long-term trend of people migrating from Wales, have caused a decline in the number of Welsh speakers. A recent Office for National Statistics estimate indicates that about 895,000 people speak Welsh, but a lower figure is expected when the 2021 census data is published, on 6 December. Now, another factor is contributing to the decline of the Welsh language: the steady rise of second homes.
It’s easy to see why Wales, with its stunning coastline and rural landscapes, has become a favoured location for holiday homes. But the growth in second homes is having a corrosive effect on the Welsh language. In some places, the concentration of second homes is so high that up to 46% of the local housing stock can be empty for parts of the year. In places like Gwynedd, one in every ten homes is a second home. According to government figures, there are currently 23, 974 second homes in Wales. This figure is likely to be an underestimate, as many homes are used as short-term, self-catering accommodation. Because these homes are registered as businesses, they do not appear on council tax lists.
Colin Williams is a professor at Cardiff University’s School of Welsh and a senior research associate at Cambridge University
