Hundreds of people turned up to protest in Llanrwst on Saturday to show their stance on the current housing situation in Wales. Cymdeithas yr Iaith have called on the Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities to do "everything possible" to support the people of Wales and reduce the impact of second homes on predominantly Welsh-speaking communities.
According to the 2021 Census, the number of Welsh speakers in Wales had fallen by 24,000 since the last census in 2011 and showed a particular decline in the Welsh language heartlands.
In Conwy, for example, the number of Welsh speakers fell from 29.2% in 2011 to 25.9% in 2021 according to the results of the recent census. Beryl Wynne, one of the organisers of the rally, said that this was partly because people are having to leave their communities: "We are losing our stock of houses because people are not able to compete on the open market which sees houses as a means of making profit, not as homes.
