Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities report on town and country planning: Welsh Government response

The Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities produced a stand‑alone report on Town and Country Planning in 2025.

The Commission’s report made recommendations aimed at integrating the Welsh language into the planning system, ensuring that planning policy supports the long-term viability of Welsh as a community language. It has sought to respond to structural challenges facing Welsh-speaking areas and proposed ways that planning policy could help sustain these communities socially, culturally and linguistically. 

The planning report concluded with a detailed list of recommendations which focus on:

• Increasing the prominence of language in planning decision-making.
• Ensuring development plans consider linguistic impacts.
• Strengthening evidence requirements for Welsh language considerations.
• Training planners to understand linguistic dynamics.
• Reviewing policy documents so that the Welsh language is treated as a material consideration consistently across the planning system.

Recommendation 1 

Recommendation 1: A clear framework should be provided for assessing the effects of a planning application on areas of higher density linguistic significance in the same way as is done for assessing the effects of a planning application on Special Areas of Conservation. Ideally, this should be done in legislation. If this is not feasible, Planning Policy Wales should be amended to include the new framework.

Response to recommendation 1: Accept in Principle

Recommendation 1 relates strongly to the themes in the main report by the Commission which recommend the need for the designation of areas of higher density linguistic significance. A core element of creating areas of higher density linguistic significance would be to allow greater consideration of Welsh as a community language within policy frameworks.

Recommendation 2 of the main report is “The Welsh Government should designate ‘areas of higher density linguistic significance’ in Wales.” The Welsh Government agrees that designating areas of ‘higher density linguistic significance’ is important in order to protect Welsh-speaking communities from further language shift.

The Welsh Government has committed to give further and detailed consideration to understand how the designation could work in practice (Recommendation 3–8), and whether it is appropriate and necessary to place the ‘designation of areas of higher density linguistic significance’ on a statutory basis. The designation of areas of higher density linguistic significance will be an important lever to manage, review, amend or formulate policies that can safeguard and create favourable conditions for the language to thrive.

The Welsh language is part of the social and cultural fabric of Wales and its future well-being will depend upon a wide range of factors, particularly education, demographic change, community activities, and a sound economic base to maintain thriving sustainable communities and places.

We welcome the Commission’s recommendation (recommendation 1) in terms of the principle of having a clear framework in place to address linguistic considerations. Creating a single statutory assessment methodology covering all areas of decision making which may impact on linguistically sensitive areas will be more beneficial than creating a bespoke approach covering planning.

We recognise the importance the Commission places on ensuring that planning decisions in areas of higher density linguistic significance are informed by a clear and consistent approach in planning terms.

We note that introducing a new statutory assessment methodology through a central framework would have implications for both national policy and local planning authority processes. Such a change would require careful exploration of legislative options, including how a statutory linguistic impact mechanism would align with other legislation.

Habitats legislation is one possible model that could be explored when developing a statutory assessment methodology. Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRAs) derive from Part 6 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017/1012 (“the Habitats Regulations”) (which implemented the Habitats Directive) of the impacts of plans or projects on European sites (which include special areas of conservation (“SAC”)). Regulation 63 of the Habitats Regulations imposes a duty on a competent authority to make an appropriate assessment of the implications of a plan or project which is likely to have a significant effect on a European site taking account of the site's conservation objectives before deciding to undertake, or give any consent, permission or other authorisation for it.

Any proposal to create a statutory assessment methodology would need to be accompanied by changes to PPW and TAN 20 to provide policy and guidance on its application to planning.  This would be similar in purpose to PPW and TAN5 which explain the application of the Habitats Regulations to planning.

The suggestion to amend PPW should follow the establishment of the statutory assessment methodology referred to in recommendation 1. It would provide more detailed direction on using the statutory assessment methodology to assess the effects of planning applications in areas of higher density linguistic significance. However, it is not considered that amending PPW in isolation would achieve the ambition set out in this recommendation without an adopted definition of ‘areas of higher density linguistic significance’ within wider Welsh Government policy or legislation.

Recommendation 2

Recommendation 2: Technical Advice Note 20 should be amended to provide detailed guidance on how to provide a comprehensive assessment of the effects of a planning application on areas of higher density linguistic significance, and the types of actions that can effectively mitigate adverse effects.

Response to recommendation 2: Accept in Principle

We recognise the importance of strengthening the clarity and consistency of guidance relating to the Welsh language within the planning system.

The suggestion to amend Technical Advice Note (TAN) 20: Planning and the Welsh Language should follow the establishment of the central statutory assessment methodology referred to in recommendation 1. It is considered that a central framework would provide more integrated policy direction on using a statutory assessment methodology to assess the effects of proposed development being considered in local development plans or planning applications in areas of higher density linguistic significance. However, it is not considered that amending TAN 20 in isolation would achieve the ambition set out in this recommendation without an adopted definition of ‘areas of higher density linguistic significance’ within wider Welsh Government policy or legislation.

Recommendation 3

Recommendation 3: Legislation or Planning Policy Wales should state that a developer needs to provide an independent assessment of the effects of a planning application on the Welsh language if the planning authority considers after a screening process that the application is likely to have a significant impact on the Welsh language outside areas of higher density linguistic significance. 

Response to recommendation 3: Accept in Principle 

We acknowledge the Commission’s desire for a clearer expectation for developers to provide independent assessments of Welsh language impacts where a screening process identifies the potential for significant impact on the Welsh language outside areas of higher density linguistic significance.

We acknowledge that applications outside higher density linguistic areas could still have implications for the Welsh language and agree that having access to reliable evidence can assist planning authorities in understanding those impacts more fully.

It is considered important to ensure that a centralised framework as recommended in the original report by the Commission (recommendations 2-8) where areas of higher density linguistic significance is defined, is developed first to guide how linguistic impacts should be identified, defined, and evidenced across all areas of Welsh Government, including the planning system.

Recommendations 4 and 5

Recommendation 4: Legislation or Planning Policy Wales should state that the decision-maker on a planning application must have special regard to the importance of a thriving Welsh language when considering whether planning permission should be granted to a development that is likely to have a significant impact on the Welsh language outside areas of higher density linguistic significance. 

Recommendation 5: Technical Advice Note 20 should be amended to provide detailed guidance on what is required in order to have ‘special regard’ to the importance of a thriving Welsh language outside areas of higher density linguistic significance in the circumstances described in Recommendation 4.

Response to recommendations 4 and 5: Accept in Principle 

We acknowledge the Commission’s recommendation that decision‑makers should have special regard to the importance of the Welsh language when determining planning applications with potential significant linguistic impacts outside areas of higher density linguistic significance. 

Planning Policy Wales (PPW) states that planning authorities should ensure that social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits are considered in the decision‑making process and assessed in accordance with the five ways of working to ensure a balanced assessment is carried out to implement the Well‑being of Future Generations Act and the Sustainable Development Principle. Paragraph 3.25 of PPW states that the land use planning system should take account of the conditions which are essential to the Welsh language and in so doing contribute to its, use and the Thriving Welsh Language well‑being goal in all areas of Wales regardless of their linguistic significance.

We agree with the underlying principle that planning decisions should be informed by an understanding of their implications, including the impact a development may have on the Welsh language.

However, before determining whether changes to policy and guidance would be appropriate, it is considered important to establish a clear and coherent central framework that defines how linguistic significance is assessed and defined across the Welsh Government. It is considered that a structured framework would support clearer expectations and allow any future policy adjustments to be built on a stable, evidence‑based footing.

Before considering detailed amendments to TAN 20, it would be essential to ensure that an overarching, central framework is first established to provide clarity on the principles, thresholds and processes underpinning areas within as well as outside areas of higher density linguistic significance. Without such a framework, developing detailed guidance risks creating inconsistencies in interpretation and challenges for authorities in applying expectations proportionately and consistently across all sectors. Establishing a coherent, system‑wide structure would provide the necessary foundation upon which any future review of planning policy and guidance could be appropriately developed.

In light of this, further consideration would be needed to understand how any additional guidance within TAN 20 could interact with existing policy mechanisms, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, and the broader development management process. We therefore welcome the Commission’s contribution to this discussion and will continue to reflect on how best to support clear and workable approaches to the Welsh language within the planning system, ensuring that any future steps are grounded in a robust and coherent framework.

Recommendation 6

Recommendation 6: Planning Policy Wales should be strengthened from a Welsh language perspective by including more clear and detailed guidance on the topic ‘The Welsh Language and Placemaking’. Among the changes recommended by the Commission, a thriving Welsh language should be included as one of the Key Planning Principles and it should be explained how the town and country planning system should implement the language planning principles in the Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers strategy.

Response to recommendation 6: Reject

Future Wales: the National Plan 2040 is clear in stating the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy and emphasising our ambition for the Welsh language to reach a million Welsh speakers, as well as increasing the percentage of people who speak Welsh daily by 10% by 2050.

Future Wales states that the language is an embedded consideration in the spatial strategy of all development plans. Where Welsh is the everyday language of the community, development will be managed to ensure there are jobs and homes to enable the language to remain central to those communities’ identities. Elsewhere development will be a positive force towards encouraging the creation of education and social infrastructure to enable the language to develop as a natural, thriving part of communities.

It is noted that Welsh language considerations in the context of planning are only relevant if they relate to the use or development of land. It is considered important to ensure that a centralised framework as recommended in the original report by the Commission (recommendations 2-8), is first developed to guide how linguistic impacts should be identified, defined, and evidenced across all areas of Welsh Government, including the planning system.

Welsh Government planning policy is kept under regular review. Future Wales is reviewed every five years, and the next review began in 2026. Future Wales was devised through an extensive programme of engagement, consultation, assessment, evidence gathering and scrutiny. Any potential revisions identified as part of the review process would therefore need to follow the same extensive programme. It is noted that the Cymraeg 2050 strategy will be considered as part of any future review.

The Planning System manages the development and use of land in the public interest, prioritising long term collective benefit and reconciling different interests. Planning Policy Wales (PPW) sets out the land use planning policies of the Welsh Government. PPW is supported by Technical Advice Notes (TANs). 

The primary objective of PPW is to ensure that the planning system contributes towards the delivery of sustainable development and improves the social, economic, environmental and cultural well‑being of Wales, as required by the Planning (Wales) Act 2015, the Well‑being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and other key legislation and resultant duties such as the Socio‑economic Duty. A well‑functioning planning system is fundamental for sustainable development and achieving sustainable places.

The suggestion to amend PPW to include more clear and detailed guidance on the topic ‘The Welsh Language and Placemaking’ is not supported in isolation. Any consideration of changes to PPW should follow the establishment of a central statutory assessment methodology referred to in recommendation 1. It is considered that a central framework would provide more integrated policy direction on using a statutory assessment methodology to assess the effects of proposed development being considered in local development plans or planning applications in areas of higher density linguistic significance. However, it is not considered that amending PPW in isolation would achieve the ambition set out in this recommendation without an adopted definition of ‘areas of higher density linguistic significance’ within wider Welsh Government policy or legislation.

Recommendation 7

Recommendation 7: The new framework for providing an assessment of the significant impacts of a planning application on areas of higher density linguistic significance should be used for all planning applications that are likely to have such significant impacts. The new framework should not be limited to planning applications for large developments not allocated in a development plan.

Response to recommendation 7: Accept in Principle 

We welcome the Commission’s recommendation in terms of the principle of having a clear framework in place to address linguistic considerations within the planning system. 

Through the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 the Welsh language became, for the first time, a consideration in planning legislation created in Wales. TAN 20 states that a Welsh language impact assessment should be part of the Sustainability Appraisal processes which is central to LDP preparation.  This is essential as planning legislation requires planning applications to be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The future of the Welsh language across Wales will depend on a wide range of factors beyond the town and country planning system, particularly education, demographic change, community activities and a sound economic base to maintain thriving sustainable communities. The planning system can continue to contribute to the future well-being of the Welsh language based on the new centralised framework once established.

Recommendations 8 and 9

Recommendation 8: If the planning authority considers after a screening process that a planning application is likely to have significant impacts on the Welsh language outside areas of higher density linguistic significance, the developer should prepare an assessment of those impacts. Planning Policy Wales should not state that the need for assessment is limited to applications for windfall sites. 

Recommendation 9: Technical Advice Note 20 should be reviewed and amended in its entirety to provide more specific advice and guidance on how to prepare Welsh language impact assessments for different types of developments. This advice should also provide specific guidance on mitigation and improvement actions tailored for developments of different types.  

Response to recommendations 8 and 9: Accept in Part 

TAN 20 gives local planning authorities the opportunity to identify areas where the Welsh language is particularly sensitive or significant, and in turn develop planning policies to help the language in those areas. LDPs can contain mitigation policies to ensure that development is phased appropriately and addresses specific Welsh Language matters, such as signage. 

TAN 20 provides detailed advice on implementing planning law, including the Planning (Wales) Act 2015, to enable planning authorities to take lawful decisions on planning applications. The advice in TAN 20 is for decisions to be based on LDP policies in the first instance - as established in legislation. TAN 20 states the best way of achieving this is by using the policy framework, which is shaped by the Sustainability Appraisal.

Language Impacts Assessments at the planning application stage would duplicate the Sustainability Appraisal; therefore TAN 20 currently advises they should be used only in specific circumstances. Only in the event of a major windfall development, in areas where the Planning Authority has identified in its LDP the language to be a key consideration, should language impact assessments be undertaken at the planning application stage. In any other circumstance, the LDP policies should provide a full framework for the decision.  Further consideration to the situation with regard to assessing the impact of planning application on the Welsh language will be carried out in light of the production of a single statutory assessment methodology (see recommendation 1).

Recommendations 10 to 13

Recommendation 10: The Welsh Government should review Technical Advice Notes 3, 4, 6, 13, 18, 23 and 24 to ensure that proper consideration is given in them to the new policy framework for areas of higher density linguistic significance. 

Recommendation 11: Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 should be reviewed in light of a new statutory designation of areas of higher density linguistic significance to give fuller consideration to the spatial distribution of speakers of the Welsh language and the implications of this for the national development framework. 

Recommendation 12: A reference to the Welsh language and Welsh-speaking communities should be added in Future Wales Policy 19, and guidance should be included under the policy for corporate joint committees as they prepare strategic development plans on policies that would contribute to thriving Welsh-speaking communities. 

Recommendation 13: The Welsh Government should review and revise the contents of the Development Plans Manual to include much more detailed and comprehensive guidance on the consideration given to the Welsh language when formulating development plans. As part of this review, the Welsh Government should consult with the Welsh Language Commissioner to ensure that the revised manual has due regard to Welsh language policy-making standards and provides detailed guidance on how to comply with them when formulating, reviewing or revising policies in development plans.  

Response to recommendations 10 to 13: Accept in Principle 

We welcome the Commission’s recommendation in terms of the principle of having a clear framework in place to address linguistic considerations within the planning system. Once a new centralised framework policy (or legislation) is put in place, a review of planning policy and technical guidance would be carried out to ensure that policy reflected the framework provisions.

Recommendation 14

Recommendation 14: The Welsh Government should work with RTPI (the Royal Town Planning Institute), language planners and universities to review higher education provision to ensure practitioners, graduates and students are equipped with the correct skills for language planning in relation to land use planning. 

Response to recommendation 14: Accept

The Welsh Government accepts this recommendation and is committed to collaborating with RTPI Cymru, language planners and universities to strengthen higher education provision so that practitioners, graduates and students are fully equipped with the skills required for effective language planning within the land‑use planning system.

The future of the language across Wales will depend on a wide range of factors beyond the town and country planning system, particularly education, demographic change, community activities and a sound economic base to maintain thriving sustainable communities. Both reports by the Commission highlight the importance of a holistic approach to the wellbeing of the Welsh language. The planning system can contribute towards securing the future wellbeing of the Welsh language, by establishing the conditions to allow sustainable communities to thrive.