Plaid Cymru councillor Seimon Glyn

Something had to be done soon to try and make it easier for young people to be able to afford homes in the area, said Mr Glyn.

The Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg) staged the "Wales is Not For Sale" rally as part of their campaign for a new property act which it claims would make it easier for local people to buy homes.

Members are collecting names on a petition calling on the Welsh Assembly to do something quickly.

The writer Jan Morris has already offered her support to the campaign.

She was among seven signatories to a letter last week which claimed the whole issue was being swept under the carpet.

People fear being priced out of the market

At Saturday's rally in Caernarfon the veteran language campaigner Dafydd Iwan, who is also a senior Plaid Cymru councillor on Gwynedd council, defended Seimon Glyn.

He said the Labour Party, which has criticised Mr Glyn over his remarks about incomers from England, was trying to score political points before a General Election.

Mr Iwan claimed that Labour had not done anything to help Welsh- speaking rural communites which were under threat.

But Martin Eaglestone, Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Caernarfon, said Labour was working hard to try and get work for people in rural areas.

At the end of the day he said a strong economy was the only way to solve the problems that were facing rural communities.

Inward migration has become an issue in Gwynedd after a report by the council showed that around a third of houses sold in a 12 month period were to people from outside the county.