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Enthusiastic endorsement for history project

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pembroketownhallPEMBROKE TOWN HALL was packed last Saturday morning (Oct 4) as AM Angela Burns gave her enthusiastic endorsement to the Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society’s latest initiative: Through My Eyes: a community history of Pembroke and Monkton. ‘Through My Eyes’, which has been published as a book and accompanying DVD, contains a wealth of local memories which should prove of inestimable value to future historians as well as those interested in the history of one of the most historically fascinating areas of the UK. Speaking on behalf of the project team Linda Asman said: “Pembroke has a prestigious history, and although its distant past is well documented there has been no book written about the history of Pembroke and Monkton in more recent times. It has long been my aim to rectify this”. Ms Asman added: “After many years of recording oral histories, I came up with the idea of telling the history of Pembroke through the individual stories of members of the community.

These stories, like pieces of a jigsaw, would combine to paint a portrait of Pembroke, and illustrate how it has changed through time as well as record them for posterity” “It was the formation of the P&M Local History Society in 2010 which provided the platform to develop the project, the aim of which was to make a DVD of digital stories (short fi lms) of local people and to print the scripts in an accompanying book. Although we were prepared to carry out the work on a voluntary basis, we needed money to provide us with training and ultimately to publish the project.

We applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund which fortunately approved the project and awarded us almost £10,000 in July 2012” “Putting all of this together has been no mean task. We needed to capture personal stories which conveyed social change in Pembroke from differing aspects of community life so it was important to the success of the project that we selected the right people. Fortunately all participants when approached, willingly embraced the project, which is greatly to their credit as making a story is very demanding time wise.

It turned out to be considerably bigger than originally planned: 45 people contributed their stories and so many have offered support. Then there are the professionals without whom we could not have brought the project to a successful conclusion: Matt White guided us through the digital storytelling training, tweaked our fi lms and produced the DVD while Keith Johnson (editor of Pembrokeshire Life) produced the book”. Refl ecting on the large number who turned out for the launch she continued: “I was really overwhelmed.

In just two hours we sold 170 copies! I am very grateful to our Assembly Member, Angela Burns for opening proceedings at the Launch, along with Pembroke’s Mayor Clr Aaron Carey and Mayoress Natalie and to Pembroke Town Council for sponsoring the event. “The previous evening the Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society held a pre-launch get together for the people who had participated in the project, and this proved very popular with around 90 people attending. The Society Committee had worked hard to produce a lovely buffet and everyone who had written a story was presented with a complementary copy of the book. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening”

“I do think that this response illustrates the extent of community involvement in the project and the huge interest in our great past, a past which has been somewhat overlooked. I hope in this project we have at least done something to capture that sense of place which is Pembroke, to preserve the memory for posterity”. ‘Through My Eyes’ is a voluntary community project – no member of the Society received any money for their work and all proceeds from sales will be invested in future projects of the Society and in the Pembroke Museum.

The Museum is the result of a partnership between Town Council and various heritage groups including West Wales Maritime Heritage Society and Pembroke Civic Trust. “It is a much needed facility in Pembroke” Linda Asman explained. “So much has been lost because we have not had a museum, hard to believe for a town with such a great heritage. However, we are working to develop it and for this we rely on community support, for donations of artefacts, photographs and memorabilia as well as for volunteers.

There is much to be done” A clearly enthused Angela Burns AM added “Through our eyes is a story told through 45 sets of eyes and yet it is a story of a community from the turn of the First World War and in some instances even earlier. It is so good to be able to record this because our communities are changing so quickly and we need to have these tales for our children and their children too – to look back on and say this is who we were, this is where we came from and this is where we are going. It’s about the past and the present but above all it’s about saving things for the future” It is a wonderful, wonderful project and a real labour of love” For more information on how to obtain copies of the book (Including the DVD can be obtained from the local history by calling in at the town hall.

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Climate

Newgale road scheme proposal report expected by autumn

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A FULL report on Pembrokeshire council proposals for a £40m-plus road realignment scheme at flood-hit Newgale before a formal planning application is made is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Newgale was hit hard by flooding following storms in early 2014 storms, and later by Storm Dennis in 2020.

In 2014 it even saw a visit by the-then Prime Minister David Cameron following the storms.

A public consultation – through agent AtkinsRéalis – was launched earlier this year ahead of a formal council application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for Phase 1 of the Newgale Coastal Adaptation Project, which would see the development of a new inland section of road with bridge over Brandy Brook some 2.3km inland, to replace the coastal section of A487 at Newgale that will be closed.

Varied claims have been made about the cost of this scheme, from £20m upwards, some even saying it could cost as much as £60m, with millions spent on consultation fees to date.

An alternative, cheaper, scheme has been proposed by STUN – Stand Up for Newgale, proposing a section of the shingle bank at Newgale be realigned 10-12 metres seaward leaving an over-wash barrier between it and the A487 to capture any pebbles and sea water.

In a question, on behalf of Solva Community Council, heard at the July 17 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, community council chair Gareth Chapman said STUN’s proposal “appears to be an under £1m proposal with up to 85 years’ lifespan compared to the conservative £40m-plus estimate for the PCC proposal”.

The question added: “PCC’s proposal is to counter for road closures that rarely happen and, even then, require little expense to restore the pebble bank. It should also be remembered that on several occasions, flooding at Newgale occurs because the river outlet is blocked preventing water from the valley escaping and not as a result of a high tide or storm.

“It is acknowledged that climate change and coastal issues at Newgale may eventually in many years force a change in the highway arrangements at Newgale but it is felt that all efforts should be made to retain the character of the village and iconic views for as long as possible.”

It also asked for the council to “commit to thoroughly examining the alternative proposal,” and to “fully take on board the overwhelming public opinion regarding the future of Newgale”.

Responding, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said a full presentation had been given to the local community council earlier this month, adding a number of options had been considered in 2016 and 2017 which were “ruled out at that stage for a number of reasons” prior to the scheme now mooted.

He told members the council had undertaken “extensive consultation which has all fed into the development of the scheme,” with a full report expected before the autumn prior to a formal planning application.

“Any coastal protection scheme, we believe, would be a multi-million-pound scheme, certainly in excess of the £1m from STUN,” said Cllr Sinnett, adding those proposals would “only delay the issue for a short period of time, if at all.”

He told members a response to the STUN proposals would be included as part of the full pre-application consultation responses, with council representatives agreeing to meet with STUN.

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Community

PCSO honoured for protecting vulnerable man from ‘Hermione Granger’ scam

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A PEMBROKESHIRE PCSO has been recognised for her compassion and quick thinking after protecting a vulnerable man from an online scam involving a fraudster pretending to be a character from the Harry Potter series.

PCSO Rachel O’Neill was presented with the prestigious We Care Award at the Dyfed-Powys Police Force Awards on Friday (July 4), in recognition of her outstanding commitment to the community.

The force said Rachel’s intervention prevented serious emotional and financial harm to the victim, who had been manipulated by someone claiming to be Hermione Granger. Through her trusted relationship with the man, she was able to sensitively explain that he was being targeted by a scammer posing as the fictional character.

In addition to her frontline work, Rachel is well-known across the local area for her safeguarding talks on topics such as online fraud, drug misuse, abuse, and healthy relationships. She also plays an active role in youth outreach and has helped secure funding for several community projects.

Dyfed-Powys Police praised her for “consistently community-focused” policing, building trust among people who were once afraid to speak to officers.

The award was presented at a ceremony celebrating excellence within the force. Speaking after receiving her award, PCSO O’Neill said she was proud to serve the community and would continue working to protect those most at risk.

Brave officer: PCSO O’Neill received the We Care Award on Friday (Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police)

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Community

Pollution incidents by Dŵr Cymru triple as NRW calls for urgent action

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Welsh Conservatives say public being let down—but Welsh Water vows £4bn improvement plan

THE NUMBER of serious pollution incidents involving DŴR CYMRU has tripled since 2016, according to a new report by Natural Resources Wales (NRW)—with the company also discharging raw sewage for over 968,000 hours into rivers, lakes and coastal waters in 2024, the highest of any UK water firm.

Welsh Conservatives have called the figures “appalling” and accused Dŵr Cymru of failing to protect Wales’ waterways despite charging customers some of the highest water bills in the country.

Janet Finch-Saunders MS, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and the Environment, said: “Water companies in Wales, such as Dŵr Cymru, have a responsibility to ensure our waterways are protected—not to allow unchecked sewage dumping to continue.
“The scale of sewage dumping exposed in this report is appalling.
“Dŵr Cymru customers are being let down by a company that is spoiling Wales’ natural beauty and threatening public health.
“The fact that Welsh waterways remain among the most polluted in the UK shows just how badly Labour-run NRW has failed to get a grip on this crisis.”

NRW demands ‘fundamental changes’

NRW said there had been a “huge deterioration” in Welsh Water’s performance since 2020 and called for “urgent and fundamental changes” to how it operates.
In 2024, the company recorded 155 pollution incidents, up 42% in a decade—132 related to sewerage and 23 to water supply. Six were classified as serious category one or two incidents, down slightly from seven in 2023.

NRW’s head of regulation and permitting, Nadia De Longhi, said: “Despite repeated warnings and interventions, Welsh Water has been unable to reverse this concerning trend.
“This has left us with no choice but to pursue prosecutions. Welsh Water must address the root causes of these incidents before more harm is done.”

Protests have taken place in Pembrokeshire about increasing pollution levels in both rives and the sea (Image: Herald)

Welsh Water admits failings, pledges £4bn investment

In response, Welsh Water acknowledged its performance “is not where it needs to be”, citing better monitoring and reporting as one reason for the increased figures.
A spokesperson said: “We are accelerating investment in key areas to reduce pollution incidents with a £4 billion programme, including £2.5 billion on environmental projects.
“While we have made progress, such as increasing the number of incidents we find and self-report, we know more needs to be done.
“We remain committed to working constructively with NRW to deliver improvements.”

Welsh Water also pointed out that across the UK, pollution incidents have increased industry-wide, and that they are improving the use of smart technology to detect problems early.

In May 2024, the company was fined £1.35 million for failing to properly monitor water quality at 300 sites, prompting NRW to expand its own enforcement and oversight powers in future reports.

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