A SCHEME for eight holiday lodges in a village close to the seaside town of Tenby has been given the go-ahead by Pembrokeshire planners.

In an application recommended for conditional delegated approval when it came before the October 8 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Noel Flanagan sought permission to site the eight lodges at Penally Grange, Penally, adjoining an existing site.

A report for planners said: “Penally Grange is an existing holiday park located within the settlement boundary of Penally, on the eastern side of the C-class highway. It consists of 50 self-catering holiday lodges and is accessible from the junction with the highway through Penally.

“The application site is a vacant parcel of land in the countryside immediately adjoining the holiday park. It is separated from the existing holiday park by a hedge bank boundary with an access leading from the existing internal road network.”

It added: “Each lodge would be supported by blockwork support walls and steel chassis to be welded to steel angle brackets fixed to a concrete foundation. As such the lodges are considered to be buildings.

“The lodges would be sited around a new internal road layout with a turning head and each would have two parking bays and a grassed amenity area. Access into the site would be from the existing road network within the holiday park to the east.”

It finished: “The lodges would be of similar scale and design to the existing lodges on the site and would be accessible from the existing internal road network. The proposal would be seen in context of the existing holiday park and is considered to be of a scale and nature compatible with the location.”

The application for delegated approval, moved by Cllr Brian Hall, was unanimously supported by planning committee members.

LOCALS in Dale, Pembrokeshire, successfully use UK Government’s Project Gigabit voucher scheme to connect the village with high-speed internet.

Dale, a small rural community on the coast of Pembrokeshire has long endured poor internet connectivity that has plagued its residents with little to no ability to use the internet for work, communication or entertainment. 

With the movement of most services and day-to-day tasks to online, having limited internet access was having a detrimental effect on residents who were experiencing first-hand the digital divide.

However, after being told about a UK Government funded project by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Digital Champions, this has now thankfully changed and much of Dale is now connected to gigabit-capable broadband that serves the whole village.

Project Gigabit aims to provide lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband (1,000 Mbps) to homes and businesses across the UK. With £5 billion UK Government investment, it targets areas that currently have poor internet connectivity, enabling them to have access to the same high-speed internet as urban areas.

With the voucher scheme, residents and businesses in eligible areas have been able to apply for financial help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband.

Cllr Paul Miller, Deputy Leader, Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change, said: “Connecting our rural communities is a significant step in the digital infrastructure of Pembrokeshire.

“Along with our partners, this extensive programme of work has transformed full fibre connectivity and will futureproof the network in our county.

“The commitment from this authority will ensure our communities won’t be left without connection.

“There is more to do, but thanks to a proactive approach by the County Council, full fibre will be offered to more and more communities all the time.”

The benefits of being better connected rurally are uncontested with the results already being seen in Dale. From helping local businesses to improving access to digital services, having reliable, fast internet access has been the core of the connectivity solution for the Pembrokeshire village.

Going forward, the UK Government ‘Project Gigabit’ is about making sure everyone in the UK, no matter where they live, has access to fast and reliable internet, bridging the digital divide and providing the opportunity for every harder to reach community to stay connected.

A SLOWDOWN in demand in the housing market in Wales is leading to a cautious outlook amongst surveyors for the final quarter of the year, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

A net balance of -43% of surveyors in Wales reported that new buyer enquiries fell through September which is the lowest this balance has been since October 2023, and the lowest balance across all the UK regions.

As demand is falling, supply is rising. A net balance of 31% of Welsh respondents reported that new instructions to sell increased in the most recent survey.

However, with limited demand, it is unsurprising that sales were reported to have fallen broadly flat through September. A net balance of -3% of surveyors in Wales noted that sales had fallen, down from +28% in August.

And this may be weighing on surveyors’ outlook for sales over the next quarter. A net balance of -10% of Welsh surveyors anticipate that house sales will fall through Q4.

Regarding pricing, respondents in Wales report that prices fell broadly flat through Q3. On the outlook, a net balance of -30% of Welsh surveyors expect prices to fall over the next three months.

Looking at the lettings market, a net balance of 67% of survey respondents in Wales noted a rise in tenant demand, whilst a net balance of -40% of Welsh surveyors noted a fall in landlord instructions. This has led to a net balance of 67% of surveyors expecting rents to rise through the final quarter of 2024.

Commenting on the sales market, Anthony Filice, FRICS of Kelvin Francis Ltd, in Cardiff said: “Appraisals and instructions are strong and if realistically priced, in the middle to lower price bands, are selling. Above £800,000 and especially over £1,000,000 are slow, we suspect, waiting on the result of the Budget. Some vendors are still asking too much and ending up with even less.”

Tim Goodwin, AssocRICS of Williams & Goodwin The Property People in Gwynedd added: “There has been a noticeable increase in sales falling through in recent weeks not helped by the implementation of Article 4 Planning controls over holiday lets and second homes.”

Discussing the lettings market, Paul Lucas, FRICS of R.K.Lucas & Son in Haverfordwest commented: “Availability of rentals is scarce as landlords and second home owners retreat from the market in the light of new government legislation. Demand is high and according to standard economics principles, rents are increasing – at the present time, mostly due to government intervention.”

Commenting on the UK picture, RICS Head of Market Analytics, Tarrant Parsons, said: “The latest survey results once again convey a brighter picture for housing market activity, with the recent easing in mortgage interest rates continuing to support a recovery in buyer demand.

“Critical for the outlook, a further unwinding in monetary policy is anticipated over the months ahead, which should create a more favourable backdrop for the market moving forward. In keeping with this idea, forward-looking sentiment data from the survey points to sales volumes gaining impetus, both in the near-term and over the next twelve months.”