A ROW has erupted after Cornwall councillors voted to replace the county's worn out road signs with bilingual ones in both English and Cornish,writes the WMN's Petra Mann..

From now on, when an old street or place sign needs replacing, the new one will have both languages on it, in a similar scheme to that in Wales.

The move has outraged some members of Cornwall Council, who branded it "ridiculous", while others were delighted Cornwall's "uniqueness" was being recognised.

Yesterday, the council's Cabinet voted to approve a draft policy for the use of the Cornish language.

It also calls for the council to recognise the county's distinctive culture and the "place of the Cornish language as a unique cultural asset" and asks for it to be promoted in line with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Council premises will also get the new signs and councillors are asked to consider using Cornish in all future council publications, promotional literature and the council website.

Councillors were told the changes would not incur any costs as the manufacturers would add translations free.

Council services will be asked to think how Cornish can be "incorporated within its work over and above inclusion in publications" and for its publications, the council will use the standard written form of Cornish.

Coun Dick Cole, Mebyon Kernow party leader, said the new signs would benefit the Cornish economy.

He said: "Cornwall's uniqueness is its Celtic heritage and we have to promote that as a brand to attract more overseas visitors. These sort of things are vitally important when trying to make an area stand out from the rest."

Coun Mark Kaczmarek , cabinet member for housing, said: "If we are changing the sign names to include Cornish, then the Cornish signs we have should have the English translation."

But Coun Morwenna Williams, Conservative, Troon and Beacon, said: "This will not be welcomed in my part of the county. Some people in Cornwall will find this ridiculous and unnecessary."

The now defunct Kerrier and Carrick district councils had a policy of promoting the language and used bilingual signs, such as those at Richmond Hill, Chapel Hill and Old Bridge Street in Truro.

Councillors will be working with the Cornwall Cultural Partnership to bring the changes in. The group includes organisations dedicated to promoting Cornish language, culture and sport, including the Cornish Language Partnership.

Jenefer Lowe, development manager, said around 300 people speak Cornish "confidently" and around 3,000 know a few words, although interest in the language is increasing.

What do you think about Cornwall Council's new policy? Let us know your views at wmnnewsdesk@westernmorning news.co.uk or by writing to the Western Morning News at 17 Brest Road, Derriford, Plymouth, PL6 5AA.