Parish council to change its name in act of 'fairness' to nearby village

A community council in Gwynedd is seeking to change its name in a bid for "fairness" towards the larger population of a nearby village. Llanaelhaearn's community council has submitted a request to Cyngor Gwynedd to alter its name to "Trefor a Llanaelhaearn".

The proposed change is set to be recommended for approval at a full council meeting on Thursday, December 5. The current name originates from the old parochial order, with the ecclesiastical parish being simply "Llanaelhaearn", according to a community council document.

The parish church at Llanaelhaearn dates back to the sixth century and the parish of Llanaelhaearn became the local government name for a wider scattered area from the 16th century onwards, a letter to Cyngor Gwynedd from the area's community council explains. It continues: "During the 19th century there was great population growth due to the coming of the granite industry and as a result the creation of the new village of Trefor (1856) in the lower part of the parish area.

"Trefor village is the most populous in the community although the name is not recognised in the name of the new community council." Recent statistics reveal that Trefor has 511 electors, compared to 287 in Llanaelhaearn, reports North Wales Live.

The letter reveals: "It should be noted that there are 12 community councillors, and the arrangement is that two thirds - eight of the twelve – represent the village of Trefor."

It went on to detail how in September 2021, the community council received a plea from Trefor residents for "fairness for the village of Trefor". They requested a name change for the community council to reflect the entire area, which was discussed at a meeting on October 4, 2021. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

The letter confirmed: "The application was completely reasonable and unanimously supported by the council." Post-meeting, County Councillor Aled Wyn Jones took the initiative forward.

According to the report: "In January 2022, Aled confirmed that a change was possible, but that a proposal needed to be put before the county council proposing a new name. 'Bro'r Eifl' was the natural choice." However, this name had already been allocated to the county ward.

"After discussion it was decided on 'Trefor a Llanaelhaearn' – in that order to avoid mutation," the letter added, referring to the Welsh language's tendency to alter initial consonants under certain conditions (treiglo). In 2024, County Councillor Jina Gwyrfai picked up the baton, with a consultation period set from June 4-25 to gather local opinions.

"We agreed the form of consultation by inviting observations rather than arranging costly, public meetings," the community council explained. The consultation regarding the name change of a local community council received lukewarm public interest, according to a recent letter.

It specified that only one written endorsement was received – alongside "verbal supportive comments, and a number of 'narrative' comments on Facebook".

The letter highlighted: "There has been no objection to the intention," before wrapping up with, "Although response to the public consultation was disappointing, community councillors do not believe there is no purpose in enquiring further or further delay."

The document concluded its point by requesting the previously stated name change to 'Cyngor Cymuned Trefor a Llanaelhaearn'. With approval from Cyngor Gwynedd, this would trigger notices to Welsh ministers, the Boundary and Local Democracy Commission for Wales, Ordnance Survey's Director General, and the Registrar General, including a public announcement.

Cyngor Gwynedd, as part of an ongoing Community Review under the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013, which considers adjustments to community boundaries and electoral elements, noted however that this procedure cannot facilitate an existing community’s name alteration, an update from the council revealed.