A WELSH Parliament committee has recommended that a campaign to stop Welsh place names being changed into English should be debated on the floor of the Senedd.

More than 18,000 people had signed an online petition claiming that indigenous place and house names are gradually being eroded, resulting in the nation “little by little losing its heritage”.

The report presented to the Senedd’s petitions committee on Tuesday noted that, while the debate around changing Welsh names to English is not new,  “discourse around the issue has gathered momentum in recent years”.

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While there is no legislation in place to restrict the practice, many authorities implement their own informal measures by urging homeowners not to Anglicise the names of their homes or smallholdings.

While the petition attracted widespread support, however, evidence supplied by local authorities suggested that only a small number of applications were being made for individual properties.

Addressing Tuesday’s petitions committee meeting, former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood expressed her disappointment that efforts by her party colleague Dai Lloyd to bring in legislation on the matter were not supported by the Welsh Government in 2017.

Neil McEvoy, the Welsh National Party’s sole member in the Senedd, reiterated his party’s policy that the price of changing a house name from Welsh to English should skyrocket to £10,000 to deter the practice.

Committee members acknowledged that time to discuss the issue on the Senedd floor was “tight” before May’s Senedd elections, but proposed that it should be brought back due to the strength of feeling on the issue.

In her response to the committee, minister with responsibility for the Welsh language Eluned Morgan pointed out that signage standards places a duty on local authorities not to treat the Welsh language less favourably than English.

This means that Welsh place names, where they exist, must be placed on all road signs and other materials with the effect of normalising those names through their presence in visually prominent positions, and ensuring they are not displaced.

On individual property names, Ms Morgan went on to note that, while the Welsh Government was continuing to collage evidence and information, legislation could be used if necessary.