Welsh fury over park that renamed itself in English

A WELSH holiday park has received complaints after it rebranded with an English name in an effort to improve its reputation.

The park in Ceredigion was known as Glan y Môr – meaning “seaside” – but has now been anglicised to Aber Bay.

Allens Caravans, the company that owns the park, denied it had attempted to “detract” from its Welsh connections. Park officials claimed that the name change was necessary to move away from its previous reputation.

However, the Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg urged the company to “abandon” the proposals, and said legislation was needed to protect Welsh place names from anglicisation.

Jeff Smith, a chairman at the society, said: “The new names are frequently replacing old and historic names that are woven into the fabric of our communities. 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.”

A spokesman for Allens Caravans said the rebranding decision was made with “careful consideration”.