News

MINUTES MEDDLER UNMASKED

Published

10 years ago

May 23, 2014

Another Pembrokeshire Herald Exclusive

THE WEEK before last the Herald exclusively revealed that an unnamed senior officer at Pembrokeshire County Council tampered with the minutes of panel meetings where applications for European cash grants for notorious building restoration projects in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock were considered.

The grant schemes are mired in controversy and in February the council had no option but to self-refer allegations of fraud to the police after clear evidence came to light in one project of favourable treatment in the tendering process to the successful building contractor.

The county council is protecting the identity of the officer who tampered with the grant panel minutes, however the Herald can now exclusively reveal it was GWYN EVANS, the authority’s key manager overseeing European funding.

In A scarcely believable twist of events, the Herald also understands after higher up council personnel became aware of the scale and nature of Mr Evans’ alterations to numerous grant panel meeting minutes, he underwent disciplinary proceedings resulting in just a WRITTEN WARNING.

Mr Evans has worked as ‘European Manager’ at Pembrokeshire County Council since August 1996 according to a publically accessible professional profile he created online.

His page on the popular vocational social networking site LinkedIn – the business sector equivalent of Facebook – outlines a comprehensive career in high profile European funding roles.

Previously working as a ‘Principal Admin Officer (EU Funds)’ at Bridgend College between 1994-1996, Mr Evans says on LinkedIn that his role there “involved overseeing the projects to ensure they complied with regulatory requirements and project closure,” and during the prior twelve year period he held ‘various accountancy positions’ at Mid Glamorgan County Council.

Under the ‘Skills & Expertise’ section of his LinkedIn profile, Mr Evans boasts dozens of talents including ‘Governance, Compliance, Project Management,’ ‘Contract Management,’ and ‘Report Writing.’ He also states he is a “Past chairman of Welsh European Officers Group.”

Fiddling with documents relating so closely to the grant scheme which is now under police investigation as well as internal review by the authority’s Audit Committee is something the council’s Plaid Cymru group leader, Cllr Michael Williams, told the Herald is “a shocking revelation.”

Cllr Williams, who’s served Tenby as a councillor for over 45 years and doesn’t know the identity of the officer, told the Herald: “Quite frankly I’m becoming lost for words. What on earth will be next? If elected members are no longer able to trust senior officers to properly record decisions and maintain council documents, then we are lost.”

Adding: “The entire basis of democratic accountability is seriously threatened by what has been going on in Pembrokeshire for too long now. I was elected first in 1968, and at that time I had complete faith in officers and fellow members. Under the present regime that trust has been seriously eroded, and it’s not hard to see why.”

The fact that Mr Evans tampered with the council’s records of grant panel meetings only recently came to light after he was brought to task by an internal disciplinary process. It is not known who discovered the alterations Mr Evans made, or how, but he made them directly following a Freedom of Information request submitted to the council by Milford Haven (Hakin) Councillor Mike Stoddart on 29 May 2013.

Cllr Stoddart’s FoI request sought copies of the minutes of all grant panel meetings of the Commercial Property Grant Scheme (CPGS). Following receipt of Cllr Stoddart’s request, Gwyn Evans made several alterations to the minutes of multiple panel meetings that have all been seen by the Herald, many of which make it appear as though more scrutiny of grant applications took place than was recorded in the unaltered minutes.

Following Mr Evans’s written warning, Cllr Mike Stoddart was sent a letter by the authority’s Head of IT and Central Support Services, John Roberts, outlining the alarming discovery and apologising that the documents disclosed to him under the FoI act in 2013 were not accurate as they had been fiddled with in-between his submission of the request, and the documents being provided to him.

All of the alterations were made to the minutes of grant panel meetings which recommended grant funding be awarded to properties owned by controversial developer Cathal McCosker, or companies of his. The panel, made up entirely of unelected officers, recommended that the council’s elected cabinet should formally award public cash for 10 Meyrick Street at a meeting held on 15 December 2011, 29 Dimond Street at a meeting on 13 February 2012, and 31 Dimond Street on 4 May 2012.

Many of the changes concerned the addition of detail and tidying up of sentences, but some also introduced completely new elements which were not included in the untampered minutes. Added to the minutes concerning 29 Dimond Street (occupied then, as now, by Paul Sartori charity shop) was a completely new sentence: “The Panel agreed that the existing photos showed the building to be in a poor state of repair and in clear need of renovation.”

Changes were not only written to conceal they were added in after the fact, but a further alteration to the 29 Dimond Street panel meeting minutes was cunningly crafted to imply panel members showed an element of foresight, by the addition of the text: “…whilst jobs created/accommodated and enterprises accommodated outputs are not expected in the short term (as the Sartori Charity Shop is expected to remain here in the immediate future), there is a possibility that a new enterprise may move into the premises before the end of the Programme.”

As well as pointing out all of the alterations that had been made, Mr Roberts sent Cllr Stoddart full copies of the original unedited documents, and referred in his letter to the relevant statute which relates to the “Offence of altering etc. records with intent to prevent disclosure.”

Section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 was quoted, which states that any person is guilty of a criminal offence “if he alters, defaces, blocks, erases, destroys or conceals any record held by the public authority, with the intention of preventing the disclosure by that authority of all, or any part, of the information to the communication of which the applicant would have been entitled”.

Concluding his letter, Mr Roberts told Cllr Stoddart he would be making a formal referral of the matter to the relevant authorities: “I will be making the Information Commissioner’s Office aware of this matter in order that the Information Commissioner may give it consideration.”

The maximum fine that can be imposed following conviction of the crime of altering documents intended to prevent disclosure of information to which a person is entitled, is £5000, though where multiple documents are concerned, it is unclear if each would be treated as a separate charge under the legislation.

Business

Largest Welsh port appoints communications and marketing director

Published

1 hour ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Port of Milford Haven has announced that Anna Malloy has been appointed as its first Communications and Marketing Director.

Anna is appointed to the Senior Management Team and this new role will be pivotal to the delivery of the Port’s long-term growth and diversification agenda and in ensuring that its obligations to coastal communities, future generations and to nature are honoured.

Tom Sawyer, CEO of the Port of Milford Haven, congratulated Anna and said: “Anna has a key role to play in our future and it’s doubly lovely to see ‘port-grown-talent’ flourish and for colleagues to progress up through our organisation.”

Anna will lead across the public affairs, marketing, sustainability, media relations, and community relations activities. She will therefore play a central role in the development of new and existing partnerships, including the Celtic Freeport, the Milford Haven Energy Cluster and the Celtic Collection; sitting alongside the delivery of major projects like Milford Waterfront and the Pembroke Dock Renewables Terminal.

“This is such an exciting opportunity. I am proud to be joining the Senior Management Team and look forward to delivering our ambitious strategy,” commented Anna Malloy, Communications and Marketing Director.

She added: “The Port of Milford Haven is playing a key role in the transition of South-West Wales’ economy to a decarbonised future. A beautiful place, with great people, that I am privileged to call my home.”

Community

First deadlines met following enforcement action at landfill site

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday 18 April.

This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday (Thursday 25 April), NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed – two ahead of the imposed deadlines.

The operator has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of the cell identified as causing the odour issues (Cell 8). These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.

Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.

While progress is being made, NRW officers detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday (24 April) in Poyston Cross and Crundale. Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction.

NRW odour assessments follow a set route around the landfill, with designated survey spots, identified to enable consistency of assessment and reporting. This is essential to ensure the regulatory and enforcement responses where there is offsite odour attributed to the landfill is robust.

The remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time and NRW continues to closely monitor progress.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire on Thursday 25 April.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales, said: “While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site.

“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible. While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.

“We want to make sure that happens, and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, said: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.

“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May. If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

These photos taken on 16 April and 25 April show the progress of capping works on cell 8. Pin wells are visible in both images. These have been connected to the landfill gas extraction system and are extracting gas from the waste mass.

Community

Milford Haven’s war memorial is 100 years old today

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Milford Haven War Memorial, a significant landmark commemorating the fallen heroes of World Wars and subsequent conflicts, marks its 100th anniversary today.

The memorial, which was inaugurated on April 26, 1924 by the Venerable the Archdeacon of St Davids, remains a poignant symbol of sacrifice and hope for peace.

Constructed from 1923 to 1924, the memorial consists of a striking assembly of pink granite and white marble statues that were sculpted in Italy.

Representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, these life-size statues stand on an unpolished three-step plinth below a main pedestal. A soldier faces west and a sailor east, with an airman atop the central column, surveying the skies.

The names and inscriptions of the fallen are carved into the polished granite shaft, meticulously supervised by surveyor J.P. Morgan with contractor E. Jones of Llanybydder.

Located on Hamolton Terrace with views over the Milford Haven waterway, the memorial is a freestanding structure in an external, roadside setting. It features a serviceman/woman sculpture in marble and Portland stone, set on a concrete base surrounded by railings. Inscribed plaques honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2009.

The memorial lists the names of 239 men who perished in the First World War on its polished grey granite faces. The Second World War claimed 157 lives from this community, whose names are recorded on bronze plaques around the base. Notably, the memorial also honours one serviceman who fell during the Korean War and another who was killed in Iraq in 2007.

The Milford Haven War Memorial stands not only as a historical monument but also as an enduring reminder of the costs of war and the community’s ongoing commitment to peace.

As the town reflects on a century of remembrance, the hope remains that future generations will continue to cherish and learn from the lessons of the past.