Welsh language campaigners ‘sticker eighty road signs’ to ‘correct’ them – council say newly installed signs are compliant

Over the weekend Welsh language campaigners claim they placed stickers on eighty of Wrexham Council’s road signs ‘correcting’ them. However Wrexham Council say it’s new signs are correct and compliant – with older signs not being immediately replaced.

Campaigners say they have placed stickers on the signs so they now have the missing Welsh ‘yield’ instruction: ‘ILDIWCH’, and claim that due to the design of the signs “there’s not enough space to place the Welsh word, ‘ildiwch’, beneath the English term, ‘give way’, so Wrexham Council had to make an exception to their Welsh language policy”, claiming “rather than place the Welsh first, the Council decided not to put the Welsh at all”.

On Monday we asked Wrexham Council if it was the case Wrexham Council had decided not to put Welsh on the signs, and if so, why.

We also asked if Wrexham Council would be altering the signs, and / or removing the stickers.

Yesterday Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “We understand that all new or replacement Give Way signs need to be compliant with the Welsh Language Standards – however, the council is not required to immediately replace signs installed prior to the introduction of the Welsh Language Standards in March, 2016, and any such replacements would take place as and when the current signs needed replacing.

“In those instances where signs need replacing due to issues of wear or damage, we will of course ensure any replacements are bilingual, with the Welsh above the English.”

Campaigners also point to a related piece of information over Wrexham’s ‘Give Way’ signage, with an FOI on their whereabouts initially batted back by Wrexham Council, however after challenge it was revealed that illuminated signage was identifiable on their computer systems after all.