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‘Visit Pembrokeshire’ is new the destination management organisation for county

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PEMBROKESHIRE TOURISM members have vote to establish a new destination management organisation called ‘Visit Pembrokeshire’, the first of its type in Wales – and one of the few in the UK. The meeting where this was agreed was held on Friday (Nov 6).

Over the last 20 months the organisation has been working closely with the other members of the Destination Pembrokeshire Partnership (DPP) – Pembrokeshire County Council, PLANED & The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority – to bring to life Pembrokeshire’s new Destination Management Organisation ‘Visit Pembrokeshire’. Our new Destination Management Organisation is the first of its type in Wales bringing together the public, private and third sector to help drive growth and development within this key economic sector. At this challenging time for the tourism economy – the establishment of Visit Pembrokeshire offers some welcome good news.

Visit Pembrokeshire will formally launch on the 16th November, when the County Council Tourism Marketing staff and resources will be transferred to Pembrokeshire Tourism. We will also receive financial support from PCC and staffing resources from PCNPA and PLANED. Visit Pembrokeshire will be led by the trade and will focus on a range of diverse activities including tourism leadership and advocacy, destination marketing, campaign and project delivery, industry liaison and support, research and intelligence and event support. Our expanded team will continue to be based in the existing Pembrokeshire Tourism offices at Llanion cove, Pembroke Dock (though will continue to work from home currently) – under the new name of Visit Pembrokeshire.

Emma Thornton

The key appointment for this new organisation has been the recruitment of the new Chief Executive Officer. The search for this much sought-after destination leadership role started earlier in the summer and attracted over 460 applications from all over the UK and abroad.

This search has now been completed and we’re delight to announced that Emma Thornton has been appointed as Visit Pembrokeshire’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Jane Rees-Baynes, Chair of Pembrokeshire Tourism, the transition board of Visit Pembrokeshire says: “We are exceptionally pleased to have found Emma who is an outstanding tourism leader who brings to the county extensive destination management experience as well as public-private sector partnerships. Emma will lead Visit Pembrokeshire with real confidence to an exciting future both for our members and our local communities who want to see economic growth closely aligned to the values of a sustainable future.’
Speaking about her appointment, Emma says

“I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as the new CEO for Visit Pembrokeshire.

“Pembrokeshire is one of the most beautiful parts of the UK and in fact the world. The Destination Management Plan (DMP) published earlier this year, is a demonstration of the commitment from Destination Pembrokeshire Partners to work collaboratively, and sets out a clear vision and strategy to grow tourism for the benefit of all.
2020 has been an incredibly tough year for tourism, but with its stunning coastline, natural and cultural assets and great visitor experiences, Pembrokeshire is now well placed to benefit from a growth in domestic tourism and, when the time is right, international visitors.

“I feel privileged to be taking up this role at this challenging but exciting time, and look forward to working with the new Visit Pembrokeshire team to lead on delivery of the new DMP and to help support business recovery.”

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy, Tourism, Leisure and Culture, Paul Miller, said: “The launch of Visit Pembrokeshire is fantastic news for this county. This is the first organisation of its kind in Wales and I’m proud that the Council has been at the forefront of making it happen. It’s been an enormously challenging year for our tourism industry, and the creation of this new organisation brings hope and excitement for a better future.”

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority said: “I welcome the establishment of Visit Pembrokeshire as the new Destination Management organisation working to promote Pembrokeshire as a leading visitor destination. Tourism is an important part of the Pembrokeshire economy and the National Park Authority looks forward to working with Emma Thornton and her team, the Board of Visit Pembrokeshire and the wider tourism industry to develop a sustainable tourism offer that supports the people and communities of Pembrokeshire.”

Iwan Thomas – Chef Executive of PLANED added: “We are delighted to be working alongside our partners to contribute the voice of communities to this new tourism & hospitality body within Pembrokeshire. Our communities provide the skills, supplies, and much more in terms of support for this key sector of our economy within the county, so PLANED are 100% behind Visit Pembrokeshire, to demonstrate and deliver a joined up and innovative approach that will benefit the county collectively”

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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