Politics
Draft Wales Bill debated in Senedd
CROSS PARTY concerns about the draft Wales Bill were expressed during a debate at the Senedd on Tuesday (Nov 3).
Carwyn Jones, who has previously described the draft Bill as giving ‘great cause for concern,’ said that the proposals went ‘straight to the heart’ of what the Assembly does, and can do in years to come.
Mr Jones said that he had recently had a ‘constructive’ meeting with the Secretary of State for Wales, who had been ‘better appraised’ regarding the difficulties of the bill in it’s current form.
“At the heart of the difficulties with the bill is the failure to create a separate jurisdiction,” he added, pointing out that the Lord Chief Justice had said that separate Welsh jurisdiction was possible without a separate judicial system.
Among the issues that Mr Jones said his party had with the draft Bill was the division between what is and isn’t devolved. Using Milford Haven as an example, he pointed out that devolving port control according to turnover ‘acted as a disincentive’ to the Welsh Government, because investing to improve ports could see control over them returned to the UK Government.
Another example given was that of open-cast mining, which is legislated by Whitehall, while land restoration falls under the Welsh Government’s remit.
Mr Jones also criticized the Minister of the Crown Consents over Welsh laws, which he described as a ‘relic.’ He claimed that as a result, the Welsh Government would no longer have recourse to the Supreme Court, and that the Welsh Government would be unable to modify any function of reserved authority, or any UK government function, even if it were devolved.
Andrew RT Davies also said that he had concerns over the draft Bill, although he described it as largely positive. Mr Davies said that it was ‘vital’ for the Assembly to work cross-party to make the Bill clearer and deliver what was requested by every county in Wales in the 2011 referendum.
He pointed out that there was a ‘lot of good’ in the draft Bill, including legislation powers over energy and ports as well as increased devolution of local government and Assembly elections. “Instead of focusing on the negative, we should concentrate on the positive,” he added.
“I, along with my colleagues on this side, do have issues and concerns around the consenting process, because ultimately, what we don’t want to do is move backwards.
“What we want is clarity and coherence in the settlement. It will serve no one if all we end up doing is muddying the waters.”
In response to Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas asking whether this meant he was willing to reconsider his opposition to a separate Welsh jurisdiction, Mr Davies said that he had always been open minded about this, but might need to be persuaded that the timing was currently right. However, he added, it may help improve the clarity of the Bill.
Leanne Wood said that a reserved powers settlement without separate jurisdiction was ‘complex and restrictive,’ and that there seemed to be cross-party agreement on this point.
The Plaid Cymru leader criticized the Secretary of State for Wales for blaming Westminster opposition parties, Plaid Cymru, and ‘Welsh Nationalist academic and lawyers’ for opposition to the draft Bill, without taking any responsibility himself.
She added that Labour’s position was ‘problematic’ due to some Welsh MPs agreeing that certain powers should not be devolved.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams said: “The status quo of Welsh devolution cannot stand. The fact our laws regularly end up in the Supreme Court is evidence enough that the current system is not fit for purpose.
“Devolution must work properly and efficiently for the people of Wales. Yet, the draft Wales Bill risks taking us back to a situation where the National Assembly will have its actions thwarted by Westminster. That clearly is not acceptable.
“Without the Liberal Democrats in government, I fear the momentum on this issue could be lost. We can’t allow that to happen. The Tories are, I hope, slowly waking up the fact that this bill is a long way off being ready. My Welsh Liberal Democrat colleagues in Westminster will be leading on amending the bill to ensure that there is clarity regarding the division of responsibilities between Wales and Westminster.
“It’s disappointing that, during the St David’s Day process, the Tories and Labour once again blocked progress on devolving policing and youth justice. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to fight to ensure that decision making is brought closer to local people.”
Community
Social housing plans for Cleddau Bridge Hotel site backed
A SCHEME to build 38 affordable and social housing units on the site of a fire-ravaged former Pembrokeshire hotel has been backed by senior Pembrokeshire councillors.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on April 22, supported a contract with developer Castell Group Ltd for the mix of affordable homes and social housing units at the Cleddau Bridge Hotel site, Pembroke Dock.
Members, in a report presented by Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery Cllr Jon Harvey, heard Castell had approached the council’s housing service to determine whether there is an interest in working with them to bring forward the development as a social/affordable housing site.
Castell Construction Ltd specialises in the construction of affordable / social housing, typically for registered social landlords across south Wales, and hopes to build 12 one-bedroom flats, 15 two-bed houses, five three-bed, two four-bed, and four two-bed bungalows.
The development package would be part-funded from the housing revenue account, the remainder from the Social Housing Grant and/or second homes premium for affordable housing if it becomes available for the Housing Service to use in this manner.
Cllr Harvey – who moved approval – said the scheme was expected to provide £230,000 a year in rentals income, describing it as “an excellent opportunity to work with a proven developer for extra social housing in an area of proven need.”
Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller said he was supportive of the scheme, as was local member Cllr Joshua Beynon, saying: “It’s a bit of an eyesore at the moment, if we can bring this site back into meaningful use, and in an area where there is a need, I’m all in support of this.”
Members backed senior officers be delegated powers to enter into the works contract, and to have powers to proceed with the land acquisition.
If a subsequent planning permission is secured for the site, the homes could be built by autumn 2026.
In a prime location at one of the entrances to Pembroke Dock, the former Cleddau Bridge Hotel has been derelict since a fire in March 2019, which brought emergency services from as far afield as Ammanford, Aberystwyth and Swansea.
Community
County Hall to offer space for community banking
A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to potentially change its banking arrangement with Barclays, after it closed its Haverfordwest branch has been turned down, but County Hall is to offer space for community banking.
Barclays Bank, on the town’s High Street, is to close on May 10.
The council has had a banking services contract with Barclays since 2013.
Councillor Huw Murphy, in a notice of motion heard by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting of April 22, asked the council to review its banking arrangements with Barclays following the announced closure.
e said the loss of a branch “not only impacts upon town centres and businesses but also disproportionately impacts the elderly who are less likely to embrace on-line banking options”.
A report for Cabinet members said, in terms of the impact on Pembrokeshire residents, Barclays has said that it is “not leaving Haverfordwest and [will] continue to provide face-to-face support for those who need it” via community locations.
Two options were presented to Cabinet: to retender the banking services contract, and, the favoured, to work with Barclays to ensure a community location is set up in Haverfordwest.
Members heard the costs associated with moving to a new banking service provider could be in excess of £50,000.
For the second, favoured option, members heard Barclays was in discussions with the council about a location for potential community banking.
Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Cllr Alec Cormack, after outlining the risks in the report for members, and moving the notice be not adopted, said he had “considerable sympathy” with Cllr Murphy’s notice.
He told councillors there was a glimmer of light for banking arrangements in the county, with an agreement now signed for two ground floor rooms at County Hall, Haverfordwest, to be used for community banking.
From April 25, the rooms will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, members heard.
Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery Cllr Jon Harvey also said he had “a lot of sympathy” for the motion, adding: “It’s excellent news a deal has been struck to occupy the ground floor rooms three days a week; hopefully this will mitigate, to a certain amount, the closure.
“If we can work with the respective banks to get a community-type approach let’s move forward.”
Politics
Next stage of £19m Haverfordwest interchange backed
THE SECOND stage of building Haverfordwest’s near-£19m transport interchange has been backed, with senior councillors hearing it could cost the council more to not support it.
The transport interchange, which includes an integrated bus station and construction of a new multi-storey car park, is part of a wider series of regeneration projects in the county town.
The total cost of the scheme in the approved budget is £18.881m, £1.987m from Pembrokeshire County Council; the remainder, £16.894m, from an already-awarded Welsh Government grant.
To date, £3.425m has been spent on advanced works, including the demolition of the old multi-storey car park and a temporary bus station.
Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on April 22, were recommended to approve the award of the Stage 2 construction contract for the Haverfordwest Transport Interchange.
The report for members listed two simple options for Cabinet, to authorise the award of a contract, recommended, or to not.
For the latter it warned: “It is envisaged Welsh Government will withdraw the funding awarded and the council would need to repay grants received to date; £10.322m has been received to date of which £3.376m has been offset against expenditure.”
It added: “Cost to cease this project could cost PCC more in terms of grant repayment and any capital work required to make good. PCC match contribution for the project is forecast as £1.987m of the £18.881m.”
Planning permission for the interchange was granted in 2022, with a temporary bus station constructed that year and the old multi-storey building demolished in 2023.
That year, members of the county council’s Cabinet agreed a temporary car park will be sited on the demolished remains of the old multi-storey car park until the Haverfordwest Public Transport Interchange – delayed as no compliant tender had been found at the time – is built.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller said: “The interchange is an important part of the regeneration of Haverfordwest, it will not regenerate Haverfordwest on its own, it is part of a wider process. The alternative to us being engaged is we simply allow it to decline and fail.”
He said the interchange was about “making it easier to visit Haverfordwest,” making parking provision “really straightforward, making it easy and convenient as possible”.
Cllr Miller said not progressing with the scheme would risk the grants already obtained, meaning the council could potentially foot the bill for costs to date, at a greater level than progressing.
He said the cost options were a near-£2m subsidised council involvement for the whole scheme or the £3m-plus spent to date if the scheme was ended, which would leave the car park as it is now.
“It’s pretty reasonable that if they give us the money and we don’t build a transport interchange they’ll be looking for that money back,” Cllr Miller said.
He said previous figures from parking revenue – back in 2019 – amounted to £100,000 a year; and could be expected to at least double on a “like-for-like” basis following the increase in parking charges.
Members, after a private and confidential session over the actual contract details, agreed to proceed with the scheme, awarding the contract to Kier Construction Western and Wales.
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