A WELSH language society has hit out at a Penarth Town Council recommendation for English street names for a new housing development.

The development, off Sully Road in Penarth, has been the subject of a consultation from the Vale council into whether street names should be in English or Welsh.

It involves a change of use of agricultural land to a residential development consisting of homes, public open space, landscaping, highway improvements and associated engineering works.

But Cymdeithas yr Iaith Cymraeg has blasted the town council's decision to opt for the English version of the names.

The town council decided to consult with children from the nearby St Joseph's Primary School the opportunity to help name the new streets, after the Vale council opened a consultation on the subject.

The pupils came up with a list of nature related names, to reflect the character of the area in its proximity to Cosmeston Lakes.

A list of Welsh translations were also made available and the choice was considered at a meeting of the full town council on Thursday last week.

They decided "avoid confusion" for visitors by opting for the English names.

The names suggested include Mulberry Close, Fox Close, and Kingfisher Close, among others.

Penarth councillor Gwyn Roberts said he believed they should retain the English name out of respect for the pupils' initial choices.

Cllr Anthony Ernest agreed saying that the use of English would avoid confusion for those coming to the area to visit, as the council voted unanimously in favour of retaining the English names for the new streets.

But David Wyn Williams, from the Penarth branch of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Cymraeg said: "The Welsh language community of Penarth is uniting over this issue, and the way that the blame has been passed by Penarth Town Council to primary school children is indicative of their thinking.

"Planning is too strong a word to use to be honest, their haphazard way of working is turning Welsh speakers against them, whether that is their intention or not.

"The only positive that can be drawn from this is that they must now recognise how wide of the mark they are and make real efforts to build bridges in this fiercely proud Welsh community rather than building English streets."

The comments and suggestions from the town council will now be sent back to the Vale who will decide the names.

The Vale council has the final decision but delegates some matters relating to naming new streets to town and community councils for their opinion.

The local authority has a policy of selecting names which reflect the history and heritage of the area and tries to use Welsh language names wherever possible.

But it also has a policy to use just one language on signs to avoid any confusion.

The consultation with the town council closes on February 16.