Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on achieving the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016's aims in relation to the requirement for Welsh Ministers to prepare and maintain a list of historical place names in Wales?
The Welsh Ministers entrusted the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales with the responsibility for creating and maintaining the List of Historic Place Names of Wales (https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/). Launched in May 2017, it is freely available online and as a dataset for local authorities and other public bodies.
The list already contains 350,000 entries and includes the names of topographical features, communities, roads, structures, fields and any other elements of the Welsh landscape that can be identified and mapped in sources that predate the First World War. The list offers map and text searches and records variant forms of names. It will continue to grow as new sources are added and research identifies further names.
The Royal Commission employs a full-time curator to enhance the list, deal with enquiries and raise awareness of the importance of our historic place names. By educating the people of Wales about the value of these crucial elements of the historic environment, the list will help to safeguard historic place names for the future by encouraging their continued use in daily life.
Statutory guidance requires local and National Park authorities and Natural Resources Wales to take account of the list when their functions involve naming or renaming places. This includes the naming or renaming of streets, properties and other places, either directly or by another party. The intention is that the operation of the list and the statutory guidance together will lead to a reduction in the number of formal changes to historic property names.
During 2018, further best-practice guidance on historic place names in Wales will be developed. This will highlight the importance of place names in the cultural, social and linguistic history of our nation and provide further guidance for owners, developers and local authorities on what the list of historic place names has to offer and how it can be used effectively.