Yahoo News Man who refused to pay English-only parking fine in Wales faces £10,000 legal bill
Language campaigner Toni Schiavone is refusing to pay a fine issued only in English, which would have cost just £60 to translate.
A retired teacher who refused to pay a parking fine in Wales that was only displayed in English could face a £10,000 legal bill.
Language campaigner Toni Schiavone will appear in court in Aberystwyth for the fourth time on 13 May after One Parking Solution won an appeal in January to reintroduce the case.
The company issued the £70 penalty after Schiavone parked in Llangrannog in September 2020 without paying. It has since paid over £10,000 in legal fees, with judge Gareth Humphreys warning the firm to reconsider the value in pursuing the "long beyond unfortunate" case.
Cymdeithas yr iaith - The Welsh Language Society - has called on the court to rule that English-only parking charge notices are insufficient, as ruled by the judge Mervyn Jones-Evans in a recent case in Caernarfon.
Already there are some rules in Wales protecting the Welsh language, but the group is calling on the Welsh government to legislate further to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers in the private sector are respected.
The original case was thrown out of court in May 2022 because a representative from the parking company was not present, and the second case in August 2023 was also thrown out because the case was presented late and under incorrect rules.
During the August hearing, One Parking Solution was ordered to pay Schiavone's travel expenses of £27.90 for the hearing. Despite this, the company won an appeal on 26 January after a judge ruled there were no grounds to throw out the first two cases.
At the January hearing, Schiavone said he had received a letter with costs of £10,156.70 the day before from One Parking Solution. Cymdeithas yr iaith say translating the notice into Welsh would have cost the parking company just £60.
"The real reason Toni must appear in court yet again is because the rights of people who live in Wales to use the Welsh language are not ensured in statute," said Siân Howys, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Welsh Language Rights Group.
“We have seen other cases of this recently as HSBC and the energy company OVO have weakened or even abolished their Welsh-medium services, without any serious response from our government."
What are the rules on the Welsh language in Wales?
Anyone who either lives in Wales or has visited will have noticed road signs and markings displayed in both English and Welsh, but what are the exact rules on this?
The Welsh Language Standards Regulations include a range of legal requirements, applying to public bodies, including advertising in both English and Welsh, and ensuring the latter language is not treated less favourably.
Generally these policies are not compulsory for the private sector, the Welsh government says, but when it comes to parking charges issued by private companies, things are a bit murkier.
A ruling from June 2023 stated that notices in Welsh or English only in Wales did not constitute “sufficient notices”.
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Elysteg Llwyd Thomas from Dyffryn Nantlle, Gwynedd, had been given a fine of an initial amount of £60 in English only after a stay at Lligwy beach in Anglesey, north Wales, in August 2021.She was only willing to pay the charge if Simple Intelligent Parking Ltd corresponded with her bilingually (in English and Welsh).
After the firm refused and raised the amount to £160, Judge Merfyn Jones-Evans referred to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which says that notices in Welsh or in English only in Wales were not “sufficient notices".
"This decision provides a warning to companies that notices should be given bilingually in Wales," said law firm Darwin Gray, which has worked on a number of cases related to Welsh Language Standards.
On 30 January, the Welsh Government voted against Heledd Fychan MS’s motion on behalf of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd to set Welsh Language Standards on a statutory basis for institutions in the private sector, such as banks, supermarkets and private car parks.
Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa? The push to protect Welsh place names
Many people use the English term, Snowdon, to refer to the tallest mountain in Wales, but there's been a big push of late to use the Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa.
Neither are "wrong", but it has been a sensitive subject for some in Wales who fear aspects of their language are being erased.
Many also take umbrage with people using the term "Mount Snowdon", claiming it is simply wrong. They point to the Old English name of "Snow Dun", meaning "Snow Mountain", which, as this passionately worded walkers' guide says, means many people are unknowingly saying "Mount Snow Mountain".
This sense of pride over Welsh place names could explain park authorities' decision in November 2022 to use Yr Wyddfa when referring to the mountain, and the Welsh name of Eryri rather than Snowdonia.
It came after a petition calling for this standard, which gained over 5,000 signatures from around the world, was presented to park authorities.
“Attacks on the Welsh language is something consistent, this is seen when house names and names for different areas of Wales are changed from Welsh," said Elfed Wyn ap Elfyn, from Cymdeithas yr Iaith.
"I, and many others think that only using the names "Eryri" and "Yr Wyddfa" would be a positive step towards showing the importance of the Welsh language."
The same was done in April 2023 for Brecon Beacons national park, which was renamed Bannau Brycheiniog, with Rishi Sunak attracting criticism for refusing to use the Welsh name.
Wales itself could officially have its name changed to its Welsh name, Cymru, with a petition to the Senedd amassing nearly 12,000 signatures, meaning it will be considered for a debate.
"Wales is a name imposed on Cymru and is essentially not a Welsh word at all," the petition says. "The world knows about Wales because of its English connection since 1282.
"Hardly anyone has heard of Cymru or realises that we have our own unique language and culture which is totally different from the other countries within the United Kingdom."
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