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Residents’ anger as Lower Priory on the brink – pub already flooded

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RESIDENTS of Lower Priory in Milford Haven had a sleepless night last night as they grappled with rising water levels following significant rainfall.

Petrified of a repeat of the flood which wrecked so many homes in November 2018, the fire brigade was called – and some home owners telephoned the council’s emergency out of hours hotline to get deliveries of sand bags.

A source at Milford Haven Docks told The Herald that they were doing their best to keep the water level in the marina below 27 feet to alleviate the rising water the best they could – but residents gathered in the early hours of the morning on a flooding Priory Inn car park to discuss, under the floodlights of a fire engine, their options.

Our reporter spoke to many residents who said that they felt the issue of flooding events was not being taken seriously by the Milford Haven Port Authority which owns the shopping centre built on the partly infilled pill. Culverts are not sufficient, and had not been regularly cleared of debris – although there had been some action following the major floods two years ago which saw water levels rise 8 feet in places.

Pill Priory: One home was an inch or so from being flooded, only saved by a large pump

Ian Banister, the resident who is co-ordinating with the statutory authorities, said he was sick to death of my own voice.

In an email he sent to the Port today he wrote: “In the early hours this morning one of the residents phoned the pier head operator who was unaware of our plight. He was asked what the level of the lakes were in particular Havens Head, on his computer screen and he could not answer, he did not know and could not say even what the levels were earlier in his shift. This proves that there is no consistency, if not any, in monitoring the lakes on their computer screen, and neither monitoring CCTV.”

He added: “Nobody is physically paying a personal site visit regarding water level inspection in particular in night time. After the flood of 2018 a protocol by PCC was set up that Jonathan Rees and myself were given a phone number to phone PCC emergency team. They in turn would approach MHPA and relevant personnel elsewhere. This we phoned several times early hours this morning but nobody answered.

“We were then forced to phone the Marina office and the Pier Head Control Tower where we were given the usual text book reply. Some of the residents visited the marina themselves.

“Our properties are surrounded by water once again, the Priory Inn is devastatingly ruined once again.

“Words simply cannot explain how we all feel. We have been let down once again.

“For the third time this week we ask you, when is the second sluice gate going to be repaired after being out of service for over ten years, when?

He asked the Port for clarification on some key points – he wrote: “Why cant you drop your water level to a historic level of 25 foot ? Its been done before, why can you not take mitigation measures to accomplish this again?

“Dredge out your Marina!”

Emergency services at Lower Priory early hours of Dec 19

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council told The Herald: “After a period of sustained rainfall, and with ground conditions now saturated, water levels have risen in the Pill adjacent to Lower Priory, Milford Haven. Water entered one property – the public house at Lower Priory.

“The Fire & Rescue Service provided an operational & tactical response and attended Lower Priory last night. Pembrokeshire County Council operatives also attended and sand bags were deployed. The Council continues to work closely with the Fire & Rescue Service to review this situation.

“The forecast indicates showery spells over the next few days, then a longer period of rain developing across the county during Sunday night until first light on Monday morning. The forecast indicate rainfall totals look as if they will be much less than we have seen last night and earlier in the week.

“Further spells of rain are likely again on Monday night/Tuesday morning and again during Tuesday night and into Wednesday, although similarly at the moment the rainfall amounts do not look as large as we have seen at times this week.

“The Council has reviewed the situation, and given the forecast prediction and the situation as it stands, no specific additional actions are planned for Lower Priory area. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with Fire & Rescue service to evaluate the risks and respond accordingly.”

The Milford Haven Port Authority has been asked for a comment.

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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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