A CAMPAIGN group in Wales has dumped an old caravan near the Welsh government’s offices in Carmarthen daubed with the words “Hawl i Gartref” — Right to a Home — in protest against the country’s housing crisis.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith campaign group fights for the rights of Welsh people including in defence of the Welsh language.

It says the caravan protest is a response to the Welsh government’s White Paper on Adequate Housing, Fair Rents and Affordability, published today.

The group says the legislation “is far too weak to address the housing crisis facing Welsh communities.”

The caravan also displays the red dragon of Wales.

A spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: “The intention of dumping the caravan is to symbolically ask the government if they expect many of our young people to live in old caravans, seeing as they cannot afford houses in their communities.

“The caravan is also symbolic of the failure of the Welsh government’s housing policy over 25 years: insufficient, inadequate and short-term.

“Communities across Wales are facing a crisis, with families and young people being forced to leave because of the growing gap between the cost of housing to rent or buy and local wages.

“Instead of recognising the extent of the crisis and the failure of the open housing market, our government continues to put its faith in small interventions here and there.”

The group is calling for a “transformative property Act” enshrining the right to a home.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: “Ensuring everyone in Wales has a decent, affordable and safe place to call home is a key ambition of this Government and the principle that everyone has a right to an adequate home is one we wholeheartedly support.
 
“Our White Paper on Adequate Housing, Fair Rents and Affordability is an important step in achieving this ambition and we are keen to hear from a wide range of people in response to the White Paper to inform our next steps.”