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Food premises fined and director banned from running a food business

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A PEMBROKESHIRE restaurant and its two directors have been ordered to pay more than £15,200 for food safety offences, with one of them prohibited from operating a food business.

Both directors of JT3 Restaurant in Fishguard, Daniel Wynne Jones and Lois Thomas, along with their company Me‘n’u1 Ltd, pleaded guilty to all offences at Haverfordwest Magistrates on Friday (Jul 3).

They were fined a total of £10,700 with more than £4,500 costs, and Daniel Wynne Jones was also banned from operating a food business.

In a prosecution brought by Pembrokeshire County Council, the court heard that the premises was issued a Food Hygiene Rating of 0 following an inspection in March 2019 by an officer from the Authority’s Public Protection Division.

During the inspection the officer found the basement kitchen to be in a poor state of cleanliness and repair, with no disinfecting cleaning products or soap available, an inadequate water supply and flies present. There was no evidence of any food safety management system in use and the business scored a 0 food hygiene rating.

Two revisits were made to check for improvements, which were made, but the business failed to display their food hygiene rating sticker and had to be supplied with a new one, along with a warning.

Subsequent visits saw the sticker being hidden behind doors and then behind an umbrella hanging from a hook above it. A fixed penalty fine for the offence of failing to display the sticker went unpaid.

On 13th December 2019 another inspection was carried out at the restaurant. On arrival officers were told that the business was closed, but once in the kitchen, they found that a substantial amount of food preparation was going on and were dismayed to find that conditions had deteriorated again, including the ongoing poor structural condition and complete lack of any implemented food safety controls in relation to the safe production of food. Again, the business scored a 0 Food Hygiene rating.

By December 19 the situation had worsened to the point that two visits had to be made that day and a Remedial Action Notice served to prevent the manufacture of chicken liver parfait and duck. Improvement notices were also served to try to address the level of training and ensure that food safety procedures were introduced and sustained.

Unfortunately these improvement notices were not complied with and the food hygiene rating sticker remained deliberately hidden.

As well as the fine, costs of £4571.11 were awarded to the County Council, with victim surcharges of £240.

After the case, a Council spokesman said: “This is unprecedented in the history of the Food Hygiene Rating scheme in Pembrokeshire where a business has scored 0 twice and conditions have deteriorated rather than improved across the two inspections.

“Despite the best efforts of our officers to move this business towards compliance, the food business operator continued to flout food safety regulations and mislead customers about his food hygiene rating.

“The decision of the court to prohibit him from running a food business and the level of fine reflect the seriousness of this case.”

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Major traffic jams following accident on M4 near Swansea

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A ROAD traffic accident has closed the M4 in both directions from 6am on Tuesday morning (Mar 19).

The affected section is between junction 49 Pont Abraham and junction 48 Hendy, Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire.

As of 8.30am there were 45-minute delays with Traffic Wales saying: “Road continues to remain closed.

https://x.com/DyfedPowys/status/1769963608048378117

“Busy in the area delays showing as approximately 45 minutes in the surrounding areas. Please allow additional time for travel and thank you for your patience.”

Traffic monitors are showing there is already slow traffic in the area and congestion.

There are delays on surrounding routes in the area and on the A48.

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Dredging work set for Tenby Harbour

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TENBY HARBOUR and North Beach users are being asked to be aware of heavy moving machinery from Tuesday March 26 th to Friday 29 th as dredging work is carried out.

Sand will removed from the mouth of the Harbour and deposited at the north end of the beach. The work will not affect vessel movements at the Harbour.

Tenby Harbourmaster Chris Salisbury said a licence for the dredging had been issued after several months of application work.

“We ask that the public please keep clear of the operating area and that dogs are kept on a lead during this time,” Chris added.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “I’m grateful to our officers for securing the licence for this work to go ahead. This dredging is essential
for the operation of Tenby Harbour.

“The timing of the work has been governed by the tide and the dates represented the last opportunity for the work to be carried out before the boats are placed back in the
water.”

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Closure of Tata Steel’s coke ovens sparks political and union backlash

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THE recent announcement by Tata Steel to close the coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in South Wales has ignited a firestorm of political and industrial action, highlighting the deepening crisis within the British steel industry and the challenges facing the transition to green steel.

Jo Stevens MP, the Shadow Welsh Secretary, expressed her concerns over the impact of the closure on the Welsh steel industry and the workers affected. Stevens emphasized the need for assurances about the workers’ immediate future and pledged that a UK Labour government would invest in the steel industry to support the transition to green steel, harnessing the skills, talent, and ambition of Welsh steelworkers.

The closure, slated for Wednesday due to concerns over the ovens’ “operational stability,” has been criticized by regional Senedd Members for South Wales West, Tom Giffard MS, and Dr. Altaf Hussain MS. They accused the Labour Welsh Government of neglecting its support for the Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot, highlighting a lack of financial assistance since 2019 and calling for a change in response to the current developments.

Unite, the UK’s leading union, has been vocal in its opposition to Tata’s decision, describing it as a shock and a “result of years of betrayal.” The union criticized Tata for not disclosing the imminent risk of closure during recent consultations and announced a ballot for industrial action among 1,500 Tata workers. Unite insists there should be no job losses at Port Talbot or Llanwern and that a blast furnace should remain operational.

Peter Hughes, Unite’s regional secretary for Wales, called for Tata to halt its closure plans in anticipation of Labour’s promised £3 billion investment to rejuvenate the UK steel industry. He accused Tata of managing the decline of UK steel while accepting government subsidies, describing the company’s actions as “deliberate industrial vandalism.”

The closure has not only raised concerns about the future of steel production in the UK but also spotlighted the political and economic strategies required to ensure the industry’s survival and transition towards more sustainable practices. The unfolding situation underscores the need for a collaborative approach between the government, industry stakeholders, and the workforce to navigate the complex challenges ahead.

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