On a Saturday morning, no life stirs. The village café is closed and the ancient church of St Beuno’s is locked and deserted. Beside the stone porch stands a dusty glass case that advertises church services and parish gatherings. Not a single event is scheduled. This is the peaceful village of Botwnnog (pronounced Bot-oon-awg) in the Llyn peninsula, north Wales, whose council recently rejected a plan to build 18 houses for rent.

Few Welsh words have found their way into English, even though we inhabit the same island

The language chosen by the council made headline news. ‘The Welsh village where English speakers aren’t welcome,’ said the Daily Telegraph, referring to the council’s claim that the new homes posed a ‘danger to the Welsh language and the fabric of the community’. The council’s statement even speculated about language tests for newcomers. ‘It would be great if the availability of proposed houses could be limited to Welsh speakers only.’ Bit of a mistake. A village council has no power to treat its community like a members-only club and to require probationers to sit an exam before receiving a residency permit.

In their defence, the village councillors were speaking hypothetically and their stance reflected anxieties shared by the county authority, Gwynedd council. Last month, the county implemented a notorious ‘Article Four’ directive which limits the ability of freeholders to convert their properties into ‘a second home or a short-term holiday let’. The aim is to reduce the demand for holiday homes by choking........

© The Spectator