Henry Tufnell has called for urgent government action, saying unreliable mobile coverage is damaging businesses, tourism and access to essential services

ONLY one per cent of premises in Mid and South Pembrokeshire can access the highest-quality form of 5G from at least one mobile network, according to figures highlighted by the constituency’s MP.

Henry Tufnell has written to the Minister for the Digital Economy calling for an urgent meeting over what he described as a serious lack of investment in mobile infrastructure across West Wales.

In his letter, the Labour MP said the constituency remained far behind the rest of the country in both the availability and reliability of mobile services.

According to Ofcom figures cited by Mr Tufnell, 12 per cent of premises in Mid and South Pembrokeshire cannot receive a usable high-quality 5G signal from any network. That is six times the national average of two per cent.

He also said that only one per cent of premises locally could access “5G Standalone”, the highest-quality version of the technology, from at least one operator. Nationally, the equivalent figure is said to be 86 per cent.

Mr Tufnell said surveys carried out among his constituents showed the effect poor coverage was having on everyday life.

Some 98 per cent of respondents said a lack of mobile signal negatively affected them, while more than three-quarters reported having a poor signal or no signal where they lived.

The MP said unreliable connectivity was affecting residents, businesses and visitors, as well as schools, transport services and healthcare workers such as community nurses.

Mobile coverage problems were not limited to isolated rural areas, he said, with unreliable service frequently reported in Haverfordwest and persistent “not-spots” affecting Tenby during the busy tourist season.

Poor coverage can also prevent people from using banking, payment and parking applications, creating particular difficulties for visitors and businesses during peak periods.

Mr Tufnell has separately contacted VodafoneThree UK and EE about infrastructure in the Tenby and Penally areas.

VodafoneThree has advised him that it plans to upgrade the mast at Slippery Back Lane in Tenby, although the work is not currently expected to be delivered until 2028.

He has also raised concerns about a proposed 20-metre 4G telecommunications mast at Strawberry Lane, Penally.

Planning permission has been granted for the replacement mast, but the previous structure has already been removed and work on the new installation has yet to begin.

Mr Tufnell said he had written to EE in April seeking clarification about when the mast would be installed, but had not received a response by the time of his latest correspondence.

He has now asked the Government to discuss what support can be provided to accelerate the delivery of reliable mobile infrastructure across the constituency.

Mr Tufnell said: “West Wales cannot continue to be left behind. We need high-quality, reliable digital infrastructure across the whole of Pembrokeshire.

“This is not simply an inconvenience. Poor mobile coverage is affecting residents, local businesses, public services and the tourism industry.”

A RESUBMITTED call convert a former architect’s studio into a long-term let after its owner retired has been lodged with Pembrokeshire planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Ken and Sue Morgan, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seek permission for a change of use of redundant office studio / annex at Little Greenway, The Studio, Station Road, Narberth to a long-term residential let.

The application is a resubmission of a previously refused scheme for both a residential and a short-term let, refused earlier this year on grounds that no justification was provided to show the existing building use was no longer viable, the proposed development would result in an increase in nitrogen discharges, and it did not include a Green Infrastructure Statement.

A supporting statement accompanying the latest application says the studio was formerly a successful architectural practice run by Mr Morgan, who has since retired, before he decided to sell the good will to a former staff member.

It said the new owner of the practice organised the business on a work from home basis in Crymych, there now being “no justification for viewing Little Greenway as an employment centre,” adding: “Nor do the applicants wish to see a new office-based activity being available within the grounds of their home.”

It says the applicants’ revised intention is to operate the studio/annex as a long-term let which involves limited management while providing a source of income as well as an additional unit of accommodation within Narberth.

It says, compared with the previous studio use with up to five people present, and the previous two-bedroomed proposal, the current scheme, which includes a green infrastructure statement, would reduce the discharges into the local sewerage network.

It stressed the favouring of a long-term let over previous short-term proposals, following Mr Morgan retiring at the age of 79: “As retirees my wife and I prefer to let the property to a young couple on a long let rather than having regular holiday letting changeovers every week”.

It concluded: “Whilst the use of the studio / annex provided a workplace for up to seven employees, increasing use of computer aided design, the impact of Covid and a desire by Mr Morgan to retire led to the applicant selling his practice to a former employee.

“As a result, the studio / annex can no longer be seen as an opportunity for another office-based enterprise, nor do the owners wish to see such an activity within the curtilage of Little Greenway with the attendant increase in visitors.”

The latest proposals will be considered by county planners at a later date.

A CALL to allow an overflow campsite to remain at a north Pembrokeshire site, which has been in existence for a century, has been given the go-ahead by the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, John Beer, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, sought a Certificate of Lawfulness permission for a field north of Whitesands Camping, Whitesands Bay, St Davids, used as a seasonal overflow tenting site.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to stay at or keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy or use over a prolonged period, in this case the applicant saying it has been used between May and September from 2015-2025.

A supporting statement said the campsite forms part of a wider farm holding at Ty Gwyn Farm which has been in the same family for some 400 years; the site and several of the surrounding fields have been used for seasonal camping for many years, going as far back as the 1920s.

It said the southern part of the campsite, for 15 tents and 15 motorhomes/caravans, already benefitted from a 2019 certificate of lawfulness, the latest call for the northern field.

It added: “At various times, the campsite has been the subject of enforcement investigations by the Park Authority, going back to 2014 and more recently in 2019 and 2023.

“It was alleged that part of the field had been used for overflow camping for more than 28 days and therefore that planning permission was required for that change of use of the land. This clearly shows the breach has occurred over 10 years, by PCNP investigations over this time.

“However, in view of the length of time the land in question has been used as a seasonal overflow camping site for tents, it was felt that a certificate of lawfulness would be more appropriate. Hence, this Certificate of Lawfulness application seeks to regularise the use of the application site for this historic use of the land.”

The statement added: “There is evidence of caravan and camping at Ty Gwyn from the early 1900s forward. Indeed, camping has taken place at Whitesands long before anywhere else in the area. By the 1930s, increased demand for pitches justified the building of two toilet blocks on the fields.

“In the late 1930s, and during the Second World War, the size of Whitesands Car Park grew as a result of sand being excavated for ‘the war effort’ (from The Burrows and Car Park), when the Armaments Depot at Trecwn and runways at St Davids and Brawdy Airfields were built.”

An officer report recommending approval said: “The application is supported by a comprehensive evidence bundle including a statutory declaration by the landowner, 12 witness statements, historic planning decisions, dated photographic evidence spanning the period 2011–2025, historical photographs of the site, site licences and plans identifying the land to which the certificate relates.”

It said two objections had been received, relating to the continuity of the claimed use, the effect of the Covid-19 restrictions on the 10-year period, and whether the application site has genuinely functioned as an overflow camping area, along with general planning concerns.

It said: “Whilst these matters have been noted, they are not material to the determination of a Certificate of Lawfulness except insofar as they assist in establishing the factual nature, extent or continuity of the claimed use.”

It added: “The temporary interruption associated with the Covid-19 pandemic is not considered to amount to a break in the continuity of the claimed use, nor does it prevent the accrual of immunity [under planning rules].”

The certificate of lawfulness application was approved.