TIME is running out for residents in Pembrokeshire to request changes to the controversial 20mph speed limit introduced last year across Wales. Pembrokeshire County Council has confirmed that the window for submitting proposals to amend local speed limits will close on 21st October 2024.

Residents who wish to argue that a particular road should be exempted from the default 20mph limit must submit their suggestions, along with valid reasons, to the council by this date. Each request will be reviewed against the Welsh Government’s new exceptions guidance, which offers criteria for evaluating potential changes to the speed limits.

The Council has made it clear that for any feedback to be considered, the first line of the sender’s address and their postcode must be included. This ensures that requests are made by individuals residing within the affected area, giving officers a clearer understanding of local concerns.

All suggestions should be sent to [email protected]. Requests received after the 21st October deadline will not be included in the ongoing review process.

The introduction of the 20mph limit has sparked ongoing debate, with the latest figures revealing that enforcement remains a key issue. According to GoSafe, the organisation responsible for road safety enforcement in Wales, 13,500 drivers were caught speeding on 20mph roads across Wales in September alone.

The data shows that while the average speed at which motorists were penalised was 28mph, some drivers were significantly over the limit. The most extreme case saw a motorist recorded at a staggering 85mph in north Wales. This comes amid growing concerns about compliance with the new speed restrictions.

GoSafe reports that around 43% of those caught speeding are attending speed awareness courses, with nearly 25,000 vehicles monitored in September. Encouragingly, 95% of those vehicles were found to be travelling at or below 25mph, which means they avoided enforcement action.

Since the enforcement campaign began, over 52,000 drivers have been penalised for exceeding the 26mph threshold.

The impact of the 20mph speed limit on journey times has also been closely monitored. Transport for Wales’ recent analysis shows that journeys on 20mph roads are generally taking longer, with motorists facing an average increase of around two minutes. A total of 60 monitoring points along 15 key routes across the country were analysed between February and April this year.

The study revealed that average journey times increased at 55 out of the 60 points. However, most increases were modest, with more than half the routes experiencing delays of less than a minute. The most significant delay was recorded between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, where an extra three minutes was added to the evening peak journey time.

Despite these slight increases in travel times, the report highlighted a positive outcome — less variability in journey times. This means that while journeys might take a little longer, motorists can now more accurately predict how long their trip will take.

Responding to the news that another 13,500 drivers were caught speeding on 20mph roads in Wales last month, Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, said: “There is clearly still a large amount of confusion amongst motorists judging by the average speed being recorded.

“Labour’s poorly implemented 20mph speed limit is damaging our economy and impacting people’s livelihoods.

“The Welsh people have soundly rejected the 20mph speed limit. The Welsh Conservatives would scrap this ridiculous policy which punishes people for trying to get from A to B.”

For Pembrokeshire residents, these changes reflect the broader national discussion around the 20mph speed limit. As the review period comes to a close, locals have just under two weeks left to make their voices heard on whether certain roads in their communities should be exempt from the new restrictions.

Plans for a holiday accommodation yacht in a Milford Haven garden have been turned down by Pembrokeshire County Council.

In an application to county planners, Phil Howe, through agent Hughes Architectural, sought permission to site the Sea Ray 290 yacht in the garden of The Cellar, Cellar Hill, near the foreshore to Castle Pill.

An officer report, recommending refusal, said: “The application seeks planning permission for the installation of a Sea Ray 290 yacht to be permanently mounted within the side garden, to provide holiday accommodation.  Foundations would be constructed, and bracing pillars provided to support the yacht.  The yacht would comprise two bedrooms gallery, and toilet/shower on the lower deck with steps to the upper deck.”

It adds: “The proposed yacht would be small and simple in scale.  The site is clearly visible, however, during the planning site visit it was observed that the foreshore and coastline of Castle Pill contains a mixture of boats of different shapes and sizes which are anchored or stored there.  Given the context of the site and its location, it is considered that the proposal would be viewed within the context of the built form and the nature of the waterway and would therefore have a limited visual impact.”

However, it says that, while the proposal would provide economic benefits through additional tourism facilities, it would lead to a “loss of green infrastructure as a result of the development,” with officers saying proposed ecological mitigations are insufficient.

The report also says there are insufficient parking spaces available for the proposal, and it “fails to demonstrate that acceptable foul drainage has been provided”.

The application was refused on grounds including foul waste disposal concerns, the site being in a flood zone without a Flood Consequences Assessment, insufficient parking provision, and the scheme “fails to demonstrate how green infrastructure has been incorporated into the design of the proposed development,” adding: “Furthermore, the application proposes the loss of green infrastructure as a result of the development and the proposed ecological mitigations are not considered to be sufficient for the scale of the development proposed.”

Pembroke Dock’s Anchorage day centre will close in less than a month, after a final decision was backed by senior councillors.

Last month, a successful ‘call-in’ by Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy at an extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s social care overview and scrutiny committee, was supported by fellow group members.

The county council is currently changing care provision for older adults and those with learning disabilities, with identified budget saving included in the 2024-’25 budget, and closure of Pembroke Dock’s Anchorage day care centre was agreed by senior councillors at the September 9 meeting of the council’s Cabinet, despite an earlier petition and impassioned pleas to keep it open.

At an earlier full council meeting a plea by local councillors Tony Wilcox and Brian Hall to give the Anchorage a breathing space ahead of a potential service move to an as-yet-unbuilt facility at Pembroke’s South Quay development, expected to open in 2026.

The November 1 Anchorage closure was backed along with wider changes in the service; establishing social enterprise models in Crymych’s Bro Preseli and Narberth’s Lee Davies Centre with effect from April 1 of next year.

The anchorage building is council owned while the other two are not.

After that Cabinet decision, the later ‘call-in’ asked for the decision to be referred back to Cabinet for further discussion on the social enterprise model, with a potential piloting in Bro Preseli, along with what bridging options could be considered for the Anchorage while awaiting the South Quay development.

A report at Thursday’s special Cabinet meeting of October 3, presented by Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, said, in relation to the first part of the ‘call-in’: “The Day Centre provision in Crymych and Narberth will remain open under current SLAs until March 31, 2025. A social enterprise will be supported to engage with the local community, service users, their families, and other stakeholders to develop and pilot alternative models of delivery.”

In relation to the Anchorage, it said: “The South Quay development will open in 2026, providing a co-located and integrated health and care setting, with further day opportunities and supported employment options for local residents.

“The Anchorage is open four days a week, providing services from the base 3.5 days with people attending alternative settings on a Friday. With regards to bridging alterations, the Cabinet report on September 9 set out a number of alternatives to attendance at the Anchorage.

“All of these alternatives constitute bridging options for those that wish to attend South Quay from 2026 onwards.”

Those alternatives include day opportunities at the Meadow Park Centre, Community-based activities in the Pembroke Dock Community Hall, and community-based activities at the VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock, the report added.

Members heard the anchorage day centre needed a new ceiling, roof, fire doors and electrics, which would cost some £500,000 to completely refurbish, or £295,000 to bring it up to standard to remain open for two years before the South Quay development was ready, with fears that rate could be even higher.

The council will be exiting service level agreements with the Bro Preseli Day Centre in Crymych and the Lee Davies Day Centre in Narberth and as one of many alternatives, will be working in partnership to promote social enterprise alternatives. Work is now underway to establish a suitable pilot which will see further strengthening of links between PCC and the Third Sector.