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Newcomers moving to Denbighshire could be given welcome packs to encourage them to learn Welsh.

The idea is part of the council’s plans to increase the number of Welsh speakers by 0.5% in the next five years.

Southern parts of the county are a heartland of the language with several areas having majorities of people speaking Welsh as their mother tongue.

Figures from the 2011 census showed that 22,236 of Denbighshire’s 68,291 residents could speak Welsh.

But this was a decrease from 26.4% of the county’s population who could speak Welsh in the 2001 census to 24.6% in the 2011 numbers.

A report before the council’s Welsh language steering committee on Wednesday sets out what steps the council is taking to halt and reverse the decline.

One of the options to improve the situation of the language in Denbighshire would be the development of a welcome pack for new families moving into the county.

'One million Welsh speakers by 2050'

Work on the packs is yet to start but they could include advice about Welsh medium education, language classes for adults and other information that groups like the Urdd and Menter Iaith would like to see included.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “The welcome pack is one of many initiatives highlighted in the Welsh language strategy to promote the use and development of the Welsh language in the county.

“Our strategy involves developing services in education, for children and young people, communities, as well as internal administration within the council. It also looks at working on issues around planning and the economy.

“The council has made a firm commitment to implementing the Welsh language standards, as well as the strategy and working with our partners to work towards a positive contribution to the Welsh Government’s strategy for a million Welsh speakers by 2050.”

The move to introduce a welcome pack is part of a larger body of work that the council has undertaken to support the Welsh language.

This work includes promoting use of the language to council staff, promoting awareness of Welsh courses around the county and ensuring that Welsh has a presence at large public events.

'Ludicrously insufficient'

But Jeff Smith, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s communities group, felt that more needs to be done to protect Welsh.

He said: “Along with the out-migration of young people, there’s no doubt that in-migration from England, and building many more houses than are needed by local people, is one of the main factors that effect the situation of the language in Denbighshire.

"There has been much talk of parts of the county becoming an extension of Liverpool and Cheshire, which is a grave threat to the character and language of the county. A pack giving information to newcomers about the situation of the language locally would be a step in the right direction, but its ludicrously insufficient.

"What’s needed is a comprehensive strategy, that will deal with the levels of out- and in- migration in each area: local needs need to come first when it comes to planning housing, and we should plan for the jobs and opportunities that will halt the damaging out-migration of young people.

"If Denbighshire County Council are to contribute meaningfully towards the goal of million Welsh speakers, they need to be much more ambitious."