Upgrade at Bridge Innovation Centre aims to give local businesses faster, more reliable and scalable digital infrastructure

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL and Welsh broadband provider Ogi have invested in a major full fibre upgrade at Pembroke Dock’s Bridge Innovation Centre, in a move aimed at supporting business growth and strengthening the county’s digital infrastructure.

The project, announced under embargo until Thursday (Apr 16), replaces the site’s ageing legacy connection with a dedicated business-grade full fibre network designed to meet the needs of modern companies.

A high-capacity symmetrical core connection has been installed, supported by a secondary fibre route to improve resilience. The upgrade is intended to give businesses based at the centre the reliability and capacity they increasingly need as standard.

Ogi engineers said that the job took around two and a half weeks, and represented a major project for the installation team.

Full fibre has also been extended throughout the building, with each office now able to access its own dedicated connection. This means businesses can increase their internet speeds as they expand, without the need for further building work or disruption.

Ogi Chief Executive Officer Sally-Anne Skinner said: “Digital infrastructure shouldn’t be something businesses have to worry about. It needs to be dependable, flexible and ready to grow when they are. That’s exactly what we’ve put in place here.”

The new network has also been built with security and resilience in mind. Managed firewall protection, intelligent traffic management and round-the-clock monitoring have been introduced to help keep services secure and performing effectively, while battery backup systems will protect critical equipment during power interruptions.

Shared spaces within the Innovation Centre have also benefited from improved connectivity, with new high-performance WiFi designed to cope with busy working days, events and collaborative use throughout the building.

Pembrokeshire County Council said the investment is about more than simply improving internet speeds. It is also intended to ensure the Bridge Innovation Centre continues to meet the changing needs of businesses at different stages of development.

Peter Lord, the council’s Principal Officer for Business Development, said: “What businesses tell us they value most is confidence. They want to know the infrastructure around them won’t limit their plans – and this investment gives them that reassurance.”

The council believes the upgrade will help strengthen Pembrokeshire’s appeal as a base for ambitious firms looking to grow sustainably while remaining rooted in the local area.

Sally-Anne added: “When the right infrastructure is already in place, it makes staying and growing locally a much easier decision. That’s how you support long-term economic growth – by giving businesses what they need from day one.”

Ogi said the installation forms part of a wider programme to support business communities across Wales through full fibre networks and managed services designed for long-term use in real working environments.

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Bridge Innovation Centre in Pembroke Dock has received a major full fibre connectivity upgrade (Pic: Supplied).

First Minister says plans for major defence development in Pembrokeshire should be paused amid concerns over the USA’s reliability as an ally

ELUNED MORGAN has called for a proposed AUKUS-linked defence project in her constituency to be halted, arguing that the scheme should not proceed while the United States is proving to be what she described as an unreliable ally.

The First Minister of Wales, who is also Labour’s candidate for Ceredigion Penfro, has spoken out as the Ministry of Defence moves forward with plans for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability programme at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy, in north Pembrokeshire.

The project forms part of a joint UK, US and Australian initiative and would see a network of ground-based radars installed to track objects in high Earth orbit. Plans for the Pembrokeshire site include 27 large parabolic dishes designed to monitor satellites and space debris.

The Brawdy site would be one of three locations in the programme, alongside bases in the United States and Australia.

Ms Morgan, who lives in St Davids and represents the area in which the base is located, said the proposal should now be paused. She is seeking re-election as Senedd Member for Ceredigion Penfro and is also campaigning to remain First Minister after next month’s Senedd election.

She said: “Trump’s hostility towards the UK and verbal attacks on our nation in the light of the Prime Minister’s refusal to give the US President support in the attack on Iran should lead us to pause our involvement in this proposal.

“His threats to annihilate the Iranian civilisation reached a new low recently and we should not be associating ourselves with such an unreliable partner who threatened war crimes on civilians, and have insulted UK armed forces in terms of their commitment to fight in Afghanistan.”

The pre-application consultation on the scheme has recently ended, and the expectation is that the Ministry of Defence will next submit a formal planning application to Pembrokeshire County Council.

Social media video links were also issued alongside the statement.

Senedd candidate Nerys Evans says west Wales has been left behind for too long as party renews call for rail investment

PLAID CYMRU has pledged to press ahead with plans to reopen a railway station in St Clears if it forms the next Welsh Government after the Senedd election on Thursday (May 7).

The proposal to restore a station in the Carmarthenshire town, which lost its rail link in the 1960s, was first announced in 2020. But despite years of campaigning and political pressure, the scheme has yet to be delivered.

Nerys Evans, one of Plaid Cymru’s candidates in Carmarthenshire, said communities in west Wales had repeatedly missed out on their fair share of transport investment.

In its manifesto published earlier this month, Plaid Cymru said it would improve rail links across the west of Wales. The party has also repeated its demand for rail powers to be devolved to Wales and for what it says is Wales’ full share of HS2 funding.

Plaid argues that Wales is owed £4 billion after HS2 was classified as an “England and Wales” project, despite no part of the line between Birmingham and London being in Wales.

Speaking near the proposed site of the new station, Ms Evans said Carmarthenshire had every right to feel overlooked.

She said: “There is often a feeling in Carmarthenshire that we are not getting our fair share of funding, and that is absolutely justified. Too often, Wales gets very little, and west Wales even less.

“Plaid Cymru has continuously campaigned for our fair share of rail investment in west Wales, and in government we will ensure fair treatment for communities like St Clears.

“We have outlined how a Plaid Cymru government would bring forward plans to develop our rail infrastructure in the west, including in St Clears, even as we fight for the funding and powers that Wales deserves.

“It is so important that Wales has a government after the election on Thursday (May 7) that is really willing to stand up for its people and communities in order to demand the money and powers that are owed to us, not only when it comes railways, but many other policy areas too.”

The pledge forms part of Plaid Cymru’s wider transport offer ahead of the Senedd election, with the party seeking to make improved rail links a key issue for rural and west Wales communities.

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Station pledge: Plaid Cymru Senedd candidate Nerys Evans near the proposed site of the new St Clears railway station (Pic: Supplied).