Llansantffraid . . . why it's all in the name

Residents of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, near Oswestry, have long debated whether it is spelt correctly with or without a "t".

Powys County Council's cabinet was meeting today to decide how it will officially be referred to in the future, bringing an end to a decades-long dispute. The cabinet will decide on three options – whether the village will have the t or not – or whether both spellings could be deemed accurate.

Councillor Arwel Jones, portfolio holder for Welsh language, said: "In July 1998, Powys County Council received a letter from the Welsh Language Board stating that the Ordnance Survey wished to see consistency in the use of place names, which included the use of Welsh names in Wales, where they exist."

Councillor Jones said that a place-names project was set up by the council, using research to standardise all names in the county.

He added: "The research concluded that the correct spelling of the village name was Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain.

"It was also the form recommended by the Welsh Language Board's National Place-name Standardisation Team. Consultation letters were sent to all community councils in Powys in May 2001 and no comments were received and the council board approved the list of place names in January 2003.

"However, since the village signs, using the form of Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain were erected, there has been extensive correspondence between the community council and the county council on the issue, with the community council strongly opposing the form without the 't' as their village name.

"There is also another group in the Llansanffraid area which favours the form without the 't' and the council has also received representations to support their view."

Should the cabinet vote to change the name, the council's database will be updated automatically and it will then take moves to replace road signs.