A protest in Machynlleth saw hundreds of people marching through the Powys town over what they called a “crisis” facing Welsh communities.

The hundreds of people attending Nid yw Cymru ar Werth (Wales is Not for Sale) gathered in Machynlleth to demand that housing rights be enshrined in law by calling on the Welsh Government to introduce a Property Act.

Some of the speakers at the rally, organised by campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society) included Senedd Member and deputy leader of Plaid Cymru Delyth Jewell.

Addressing the crowds, she said: “What a pleasure it is to speak with you at a site that is at the centre of our history as a nation.

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“Here in Machynlleth was the site of our first parliament house, the test of every test, the sanctuary of our temperament.

“This is one of the places that is fundamental to our stories. Crossroads where history and our present meet.  There are still traces of Glyndwr on the streets, but it is today's battle, not yesterday's, that calls us together.

(Image: Owain Meirion)

“'Wales is not for sale’. Those are words, and the words are a call. To unite, to challenge, to persevere: a call that shows we will not give up.

“Without intervention, there will be an end to that thread that connects each of us with those who went before us. The Welsh language has sustained us for centuries. The language is still alive today. It is the Welsh that grabs hold of us all.”

Members of the rally and the wider campaign hope that a Property Act would treat houses as a community need rather than financial assets, while also prioritising and encouraging local ownership of property.

(Image: Owain Meirion)

Dafydd Morgan Lewis from Cymdeithas yr Iaith added: “We are facing a crisis. Our young people are exiled from their communities and unable to find homes to live in.

"There was a promise of a White Paper from the government over the summer. But we're still waiting for it.

“If it comes before the end of the year I hope it will be a radical one. One that will ensure a statutory right to a home for people in their community at a price that is affordable and reflects local wages. Certainly houses should not be built if there is no local demand for them.

“The government is committed to securing one million Welsh speakers by 2050. But that is definitely not going to happen if young people cannot afford to live in their communities. After all, 2050 is a great deal closer to us than 1987 when the Property Act campaign began in earnest.”