Ceredigion: Glan y Mor name change angers Welsh language campaigners

The owners of the holiday park say the rebrand is part of a £5m investment

A holiday park that changed its Welsh name to an English one has come under fire from language campaigners.

Glan y Môr holiday park in Ceredigion is now known as Aber Bay.

"We are very concerned that places and properties across Wales are being renamed in English," said Welsh language group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, adding the names often replace old and historical ones.

Owner Allens Caravans said the site's original farmhouse remains Glan y Môr.

"The holiday park has been known as Glan y Môr for [more than] a century and this is a descriptive and well-known name," said Cymdeithas chairman Jeff Smith.

The group said the renaming was "a step in the wrong direction" and urged the holiday park owners to abandon the renaming proposals.

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Allens Caravans took over the park in 2017.

The firm, which manages nine caravan sites across the UK, is spending £5m to redevelop the site with a new clubhouse and facilities.

"Despite our best endeavours to market the park to new customers, we were met with complaints and issues prior to our ownership," a spokesperson said.

Allens Caravans said it had only been contacted by four people living in the area since the name change.

The holiday park, near Aberystwyth, had been known by its Welsh name for more than a hundred years, Cymdeithas yr Iaith said

But campaigners want rules in place to stop Welsh names from being changed to English ones.

"The very fact that the owners of the holiday park are allowed to anglicise the original name underlines the need for legislation to protect Welsh language place names," Cymdeithas said.

"After years of delay, we need to see action from the Welsh government on this."

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