News

Drakeford: Wales should benefit from Crown Estate wind profits

Published

2 months ago

September 29, 2025

Former First Minister backs call for sovereign wealth fund

WALES should see direct financial benefit from offshore wind developments in the Celtic Sea, former first minister Mark Drakeford has said.

Speaking at a fringe event during Labour’s annual conference, Mr Drakeford argued that revenues from the Crown Estate’s projects off the Welsh coast should be channelled into a sovereign wealth fund for Wales. He said this would prevent a repeat of the country’s industrial past, when coal and other natural resources were exploited but the profits flowed out of Wales.

“Historically the wealth has been taken elsewhere,” he said. “This time, with renewable energy, we need to ensure it is Welsh people who gain.”

The UK Government rejected devolving control of the Crown Estate to Cardiff earlier this year. While Mr Drakeford said he still supports devolution, he argued a fund could be established without it, if ministers in London were willing to “come to the table”.

Under his proposal, a small levy would be taken from each unit of energy generated by Crown Estate offshore projects and reinvested into Wales. He pointed to international examples, such as Norway’s oil fund, which acts as a financial reserve and long-term savings plan for its citizens.

Plaid Cymru has long argued for such a scheme and unveiled their own plan last year, but Mr Drakeford denied he was borrowing from the party. “Ideas don’t belong to any one party,” he said. “If it’s the right thing for Wales, let’s have that debate and make it happen.”

The discussion came as Labour faced pressure from Reform UK, which has been pushing policies of partial public ownership of energy, water and rail. Current first minister Eluned Morgan also used her conference speech to repeat Labour in Wales’ demand that the Crown Estate be devolved, although this remains outside UK Labour’s official policy.

Floating wind farms are already planned off the Pembrokeshire coast under Crown Estate agreements, and campaigners argue that without reform, much of the wealth generated will once again leave Wales.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said: “It has always been within Westminster’s power to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales. Anything less than that is simply political theatre.”

Community

Best of Brass concert set to light up St Davids Cathedral

Published

5 minutes ago

November 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

TWO of Wales’ finest brass bands will come together next month for a spectacular evening of music at one of the county’s most iconic venues.

The Goodwick Brass Band will perform in concert with the world-number-one ranked Cory Band at St Davids Cathedral on Saturday, December 3, 2016, at 7:30pm.

Organisers say the event, titled Best of Brass, promises an unforgettable night for music lovers, showcasing the very best in Welsh brass banding. The Cory Band, famed for their rich sound and innovative performances, will share the stage with Goodwick Brass Band, Pembrokeshire’s own national champions, in what is expected to be a sell-out concert.

The concert takes place by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of St Davids Cathedral, offering a rare chance to hear two elite ensembles perform within the stunning acoustics of the historic setting.

Tickets are priced at £15, £12, and £10, and are available from West Wales Arts Centre, Goodwick Post Office, St David’s Bookshop, Musicians World in Haverfordwest, and Yr Hen Emporium in Cardigan, or directly from any band member.

Entertainment

Local premiere for S4C documentary on Pembrokeshire’s ‘Cannabis Cove’

Published

1 hour ago

November 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Exclusive screening revisits one of Wales’ most remarkable police operations

A TWO-PART documentary exploring a major drugs bust that stunned a quiet Pembrokeshire seaside town will have its exclusive English-language premiere in Newport next week.

Cannabis Cove: Operation Seal Bay, produced for S4C, takes viewers back to 1983, when the peace of Newport was shattered by one of the most extraordinary police investigations in Welsh criminal history.

That summer, the town became the unlikely centre of an international smuggling ring after a local fisherman, Andy Burgess, spotted something unusual at a remote beach called Pwll Coch—known locally as Seal Bay.

Soon after, authorities discovered a concealed hatch on nearby Traeth Cell Hywel. Beneath it lay a man-made underground chamber stocked with food, radio equipment and fibreglass resin — “like something straight out of James Bond.”

The mystery unfolds

As detectives began to investigate, residents reported strange activity around Newport — unfamiliar luxury cars on rural lanes, and strangers flashing £50 notes in local pubs.

What followed was a sprawling investigation that reached from Pembrokeshire to Scandinavia and the Middle East. Within days, three men — Robin Boswell, Ken Dewar, and escaped drug trafficker Sam Spanggaard — were arrested.

However, the case soon hit a snag: the drugs had disappeared. Without the contraband, the entire prosecution risked collapse. Detectives began to suspect there was a local connection — someone who knew the coastline well.

Forty years on

More than four decades later, S4C’s new documentary returns to the mystery with rare interviews, archive footage, and dramatic re-enactments.

For the first time, it includes testimony from a local man — known only as “Jim” — whose words are voiced by an actor to protect his identity. “Jim,” who once modified cars for Boswell, became unwittingly entangled in a smuggling network stretching from Pembrokeshire to Morocco and beyond.

The two episodes retrace both the discovery of the secret underground chamber and the international scope of the operation that followed.

Local resident Wendy Phillips recalled: “Everyone knew everyone. Everyone knew each other’s business — that’s just how you were brought up.”

Screening in Newport

The pre-broadcast English-language screening of Cannabis Cove: Operation Seal Bay will take place at 6:30pm on Thursday, November 20, at Canolfan Bethlehem, Upper West Street, Newport.

Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with retired detectives Don Evans and John Daniels, who worked on the original case, alongside the film’s director James Hale.

Entry is free, but donations will be taken on the door to support Canolfan Bethlehem.

Cannabis Cove: Operation Seal Bay airs on S4C later this month.

Crime

Boat removed from Cardigan scene as police probe young woman’s death

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A BOAT covered in black plastic sheeting has been removed from the Netpool area of Cardigan as part of a major police investigation into the death of a young woman.

The vessel was taken away at around 11:30pm on Saturday (Nov 15) under police escort and is understood to form a key part of the ongoing forensic inquiry. Officers had cordoned off the slipway near the River Teifi throughout the day, with multiple police vehicles and scenes-of-crime teams attending.

Emergency services were first called to the location around lunchtime on Saturday (Nov 15) following a 999 call, and a large police response was reported soon afterwards.

A man was taken to hospital with serious injuries. His condition has not been confirmed, and Dyfed-Powys Police have not yet said whether any arrests have been made.

The woman, believed to be in her early twenties, has not yet been formally identified.

Police are expected to remain in the area while specialist officers continue their investigation.

The Herald has contacted Dyfed-Powys Police for an official update.