Last year's eisteddfod was held in St David's

The National Eisteddfod has been accused of becoming too big to be held in rural areas after choosing the Faenol estate near Bangor as a possible site for the 2005 festival.

People in Pwllheli, over twenty miles away in the Dwyfor district of Gwynedd, say the Faenol is too far away for them to be able to support it financially.

They say the festival could not rely on the fund-raising efforts of communities in Dwyfor if the eisteddfod is located in Bangor, which is in neighbouring Arfon.

A meeting between the local steering committee and eisteddfod officials was held in Penygroes near Caernarfon on Wednesday.

The Faenol site, which hosts opera star Bryn Terfel's successful summer music festival, is considered the front runner.

The Faenol festival is in its fourth year

The two other suggested sites are in the more rural Glandwyfach near Criccieth and Glynllifon outside Caernarfon.

The eisteddfod is held alternately in the north and south every year and relies on the fund-raising efforts of the surrounding communities.

This year's festival is being staged at Meifod near Welshpool in mid Wales.

Dozens of communities in the Llyn Peninsula would be expected to raise funds for the 2005 festival.

But Pwllheli councillors say the Faenol estate is too far away from the Llyn Peninsula, which had originally invited the festival.

"People will not contribute to an eisteddfod that is so far away from us in Dwyfor," said the mayor of Pwllheli, Glyn Roberts.

"The eisteddfod is becoming too big to be held in rural areas.

"It is being centralised so that it is held in only a few heavily populated areas in Wales, but the institution gets its sustenance from Welsh-speaking communities in rural areas," he said.

But this argument is dismissed by National Eisteddfod director, Elfed Roberts.

Elfed Roberts: location will be announced next week

"In the past 15 years, all but two of the places the eisteddfod has visited have been not only rural areas, but also Objective One areas.

"It is simply not true that we are turning our backs on these areas.

"A decision was made in 1995 that the eisteddfod would not grow beyond the 30 acres of flat land we need to hold the event within the budget."

He added the festival would continue to be held in either urban or rural areas as long as suitable land could be found.

Mr Roberts would not divulge the result of the meeting but said the outcome would be announced next week.