News

Consultation calamity continues

Published

10 years ago

February 2, 2016

Controversial: School shake-up plans were met with protests

FOLLOWING the Council’s decision to cease its consultation into the future of post-16 education in Haverfordwest, having also aborted its previous consultation, The Pembrokeshire Herald contacted the Welsh Government. We asked for information on its Schools Reorganisation Guidance and the extent of any difficulties local authorities had encountered in relation to it.

The Welsh Government refused to disclose the information requested. This was not on the basis that it did not have it, but on the principle that its publication would affect its role as the final arbiter of reorganisation proposals presented by Welsh local authorities.

Herald staff thereafter made a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to the other 21 Welsh local authorities to establish whether there was any pattern to the difficulties Pembrokeshire County Council has evidently encountered in both running the consultation properly and following the Welsh Government’s statutory guidance on its obligations.

Perhaps the guidance was just too complex for officers to follow. The results of our inquiry reveal that is not the case. We were surprised that a number of local authorities, notably Ceredigion, were able to respond to our queries not only well within the twenty-day limit but by return of email.

The Herald asked the following questions of individual councils:

· How many consultations has the Council carried out under the terms of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013?

· Has the Council discontinued or ceased any consultations once it has started?

· Has the Council received any legal challenge in respect of their proposals published under the terms of the Act and Code?

In relation to the first question, Councils (excluding Pembrokeshire) had held 85 consultations.

Only one other Council had discontinued or abandoned more than one consultation, Bridgend. Denbighshire also discontinued a consultation, having reassessed its business case.

Interestingly Bridgend Council has discontinued or abandoned three consultations. It pools its legal expertise with Pembrokeshire.

Three other Councils had received legal challenges, Bridgend, Denbighshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Unless the position is markedly and significantly different at the sole remaining Council to respond, Pembrokeshire and Bridgend are alone in having to halt or abandon consultations once started. Pembrokeshire IS alone in having to halt what amounted to a re-run of a previous consultation on the same grounds as it had discontinued the original.

It appears that the complexity of the regulations is not such that the legal and institutional minds of other local authorities are bewildered and bewitched by them.

Jamie Adams is fond of pointing out Pembrokeshire’s exceptional status as an authority, a county, and a brand. Now something else has distinguished Pembrokeshire County Council from other Welsh local authorities.

The Council is yet to embark on a further consultation about the future of Haverfordwest’s secondary schools. Events appear, however, to indicate that there are going to be few surprises when it is announced.

Crime

Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident

Published

3 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.

Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.

The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:

Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
Common assault
Assault by beating

No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.

Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

3 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.

David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second count of assault
Criminal damage
An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
A public order offence

Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.

Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.

The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.

During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.

Charges Include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional non-fatal strangulation
Common assault on a woman
Criminal damage in a domestic context
Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
Breach of bail conditions

Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.

Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.

No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.