New High Street venue combines ice cream, coffee, event tickets and local radio under one roof

A NEW community-focused ice cream parlour and events hub has opened its doors in the centre of Haverfordwest.

Pure West Parlour welcomed its first customers during a successful “Soft Scoop Launch” on Friday, July 24, and will now open from 10am until 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

The new venue, located at 2 High Street, next door to Pure West Radio’s headquarters, has been designed as more than a traditional ice cream parlour.

Alongside refreshments, visitors will be able to purchase tickets for local events, browse Pure West Radio merchandise, learn about upcoming projects and speak directly with members of the station’s team.

An official launch party will take place from 10am on Monday, August 3, with members of the public invited to meet the team and celebrate the new venture.

To mark the occasion, every visitor arriving during the first hour, between 10am and 11am, will receive a free scoop of Mario’s Ice Cream.

The opening ceremony was led by the Mayor of Haverfordwest, Cllr Randell Izaiah Thomas-Turner.

He was joined by Sheriff Cllr Dani Thomas-Turner, Deputy Mayor Cllr Adam Benson-Davies and Deputy Mayoress Alex Dare.

The civic party wished the Pure West team every success and welcomed the parlour as another positive investment in Haverfordwest town centre.

Also attending was Pat Swales, proprietor of the former Swales Music Centre, which occupied the building for many years.

Her presence provided a nostalgic link to the property’s past, as one well-known local business effectively passed the baton to another.

Pure West Parlour will serve Mario’s Ice Cream alongside freshly prepared barista coffee, iced coffee, smoothies, milkshakes, frappés and a range of cold drinks.

Bubble tea and sundaes are expected to be added to the menu shortly.

The venue will also feature vending machines, exclusive Pure West merchandise and a selection of unusual and trending products.

It will serve as an official box office for many events promoted or delivered by Pure West Radio and its partners, giving customers a central location to purchase tickets and find out what is happening across Pembrokeshire.

Pure West Radio said the parlour represented another significant investment in Haverfordwest and reflected its commitment to supporting local businesses, organisations and community events.

The station hopes the venue will become a welcoming space where residents and visitors can enjoy refreshments, discover local events and learn more about the work of Pembrokeshire’s hyper-local radio service.

Pure West Parlour is open from Monday to Saturday, between 10am and 4pm, at 2 High Street, Haverfordwest, SA61 2DJ.

The official launch party begins at 10am on Monday, August 3.

A CALL to let a small rural Pembrokeshire caravan site keep a glamping pod sited without planning permission has been lodged with county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Janice Palin seeks retrospective permission for the retention of a glamping pod and change of use of land for short-term visitor accommodation at Woodstock, Cold Inn, near Kilgetty.

A supporting statement accompanying the application says the application for the 2023 retrospective scheme follows a conversation with one of the authority’s enforcement officers.

It adds: “The property comprises of the main dwelling and associated garden as well as a caravan site which is a Caravan and Motorhome Club Certificated Location (CL) with a capacity of five caravans or motorhomes. The glamping pod is contained within the garden of the main dwelling.

“The CL is located just south of the glamping pod, separated by a hedgerow. A single car parking space is located just off the main access to the caravan site and a pathway allows access to the pod adjacent to the hedgerow. The glamping pod utilises the existing access for the caravan site from the main road.”

It goes on to say: “The glamping pod has been used for short-term holiday accommodation since June 2023. The structure is capable of removal and does not represent permanent built development. The operation of the glamping pod since 2023, provides valuable evidence regarding its actual impacts.

“During this period there have been no known complaints relating to noise, disturbance, privacy, highway safety, drainage or landscape impact. The operational history demonstrates that the use functions successfully within its setting without giving rise to unacceptable effects on neighbouring occupiers or the wider area.”

It finished: “This development only comprises of one additional glamping pod, a modest diversification and enhancement of an existing tourism enterprise rather than the creation of a brand-new tourism site.

“The glamping pod has already been operating for a number of years and it has contributed to the provision of visitor accommodation within this area of Pembrokeshire. It helps to support the objectives of maintaining a diverse and high-quality tourism offer, whilst still being low-impact and well contained in an enclosed area of a private garden. The proposal provides a different style of accommodation to the existing touring pitches, broadening the range of accommodation available to visitors.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

A RESUBMITTED call convert a former architect’s studio into a long-term let after its owner retired has been lodged with Pembrokeshire planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Ken and Sue Morgan, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seek permission for a change of use of redundant office studio / annex at Little Greenway, The Studio, Station Road, Narberth to a long-term residential let.

The application is a resubmission of a previously refused scheme for both a residential and a short-term let, refused earlier this year on grounds that no justification was provided to show the existing building use was no longer viable, the proposed development would result in an increase in nitrogen discharges, and it did not include a Green Infrastructure Statement.

A supporting statement accompanying the latest application says the studio was formerly a successful architectural practice run by Mr Morgan, who has since retired, before he decided to sell the good will to a former staff member.

It said the new owner of the practice organised the business on a work from home basis in Crymych, there now being “no justification for viewing Little Greenway as an employment centre,” adding: “Nor do the applicants wish to see a new office-based activity being available within the grounds of their home.”

It says the applicants’ revised intention is to operate the studio/annex as a long-term let which involves limited management while providing a source of income as well as an additional unit of accommodation within Narberth.

It says, compared with the previous studio use with up to five people present, and the previous two-bedroomed proposal, the current scheme, which includes a green infrastructure statement, would reduce the discharges into the local sewerage network.

It stressed the favouring of a long-term let over previous short-term proposals, following Mr Morgan retiring at the age of 79: “As retirees my wife and I prefer to let the property to a young couple on a long let rather than having regular holiday letting changeovers every week”.

It concluded: “Whilst the use of the studio / annex provided a workplace for up to seven employees, increasing use of computer aided design, the impact of Covid and a desire by Mr Morgan to retire led to the applicant selling his practice to a former employee.

“As a result, the studio / annex can no longer be seen as an opportunity for another office-based enterprise, nor do the owners wish to see such an activity within the curtilage of Little Greenway with the attendant increase in visitors.”

The latest proposals will be considered by county planners at a later date.