News

‘Stark’ choices for Pembrokeshire

Published

10 years ago

November 26, 2014

Cllr Jamie Adams: Simpson says he is ‘a capable boy with bad judgement’

A MEDIA meeting on Friday Oct 3) allowed media to quiz Council Leader Jamie Adams about the council’s public consultation of its services and budget planning. In conjunction with the council’s Finance Director, Jon Haswell, Cllr Adams delivered a ‘stark’ assessment of the choices facing local government in Pembrokeshire. Jamie Adams told the press that the effect of cuts on the grant to local government will mean around 25% of funding will disappear over the next four years.

With Pembrokeshire’s annual budget running currently at about £207m a year, that figure will shrink to £150m by 2017/18. According to Jon Haswell: “It is difficult to see how previously protected services such as education can retain their ‘protected’ status.’ ‘Protected’ elements of the budget amount to – arguably – £170m, while other services have been cut.” Jamie Adams continued by remarking that he regarded the current grants system as inefficient and bureaucratic, particularly with regard to specific grants given for defined projects.

Calling on government ministers to ease the bureaucratic burden, Cllr Adams suggested that the time had come for specific grants to be included in the total grant settlement to prevent duplication of work and waste of scarce cash. Cllr Adams stated that he was keen to strip away excess costs from the delivery of services and pointed out that he was keen to communicate that buildings were separate entities from the services provided within them. “Year on year I am pleased to have been able to announce that we are one of the few authorities without resorting to compulsory redundancies. I can no longer give that guarantee now. We are at a tipping point in local government finances.

We will consider all options, and will be looking to flexible opportunities to reduce some staff hours. We have to look at that in relation to service provision. “But I have to praise staff for the willingness and skills in delivering services outside their comfort zone, for example at Fishguard Library, where several services are delivered and more hours are now devoted to individual services than was previously the case.” He added: “Costs associated with buildings are impacting upon the level of service, in that they drain the budget.

We are looking at a rationalisation of buildings which hopefully will not mean a rationalisation of services but that the same number of services will be delivered from fewer building. “We are at a fundamental juncture in local government where we need to significantly reduce the costs of the services we provide. Taking the Youth Service as an example, 40%-50% of the cost of providing that service is tied up in the specific building. Those buildings provide nothing. People provide the service. The family centre, youth centre, older persons’ centre, adult education centre become one and instead of being used, perhaps, sixteen hours a week, they are used sixteen hours a day.

What you have in communities is an attitude that the building is the service. But that is not the case. Luncheon clubs, for example, meet in specific buildings but why not elsewhere. We need to focus our expenditure on services and people, not on maintaining buildings. It is a difficult argument to get across. I hope more communities will step forward and follow the example of Fishguard at Theatr Gwaun, and become involved in delivering services and taking on funding of them their selves. I want to be clear, however, that we will not allow communities to take on providing services which they cannot afford to maintain.”

He went on to explain: “Look at Narberth Pool: there is great enthusiasm to retain Narberth Pool within that community. I hope and think they will get there and show they have the financial capacity to maintain the Pool as a going concern.” “There will be inevitably be services which are delivered at low cost now, which will attract a higher cost in the future. Some things that are provided free, will be charged for in order to retain services. There are different ways to deliver services; there is a huge capacity in the third sector, but there is also a chance of losing uniformity across the whole county.”

Speaking about secondary education, Cllr Adams told the meeting: “There are eight secondary schools in Pembrokeshire with 1,000 empty places. In five years time there will be 2,000 empty places. Maintaining schools that are not at or near capacity is a wasted resource. “21st Century Schools is an opportunity to rebuild the school estate and provide more efficient buildings to reduce the costs of running school buildings.” In relation to the pressure being applied to Welsh councils to merge, Jamie Adams said: “We are prepared to look at the advantages for Pembrokeshire of some sort of formal arrangement with another Council.

We are to discuss this in Council on October 16. But I have not seen any evidence that larger councils to perform well financially, in fact the largest council in Wales is not doing very well at all. “Partnership working is already happening. We are already working with Carmarthenshire on elements of the education service. But there is the important matter of democratic oversight;

there is a risk of the creation of a democratic deficit if councils become too large and services too remote. “In terms of the financial carrot offered by the Minister, I have seen no detail and I suspect that councils might find it a very mouldy carrot indeed, especially if they have to find the money to fund mergers themselves out of existing budgets. “That said, I do see an opportunity for councils to become commissioners of services, rather than providing all those services themselves.

Legal services are provided via a consortium-type arrangement. “I have no problem commissioning a service from another council or another provider but I think it is important that people and councillors can hold me to democratic account about the decisions I make. “It would be quite comfortable, I think, being the head of a large authority. You can avoid direct engagement, in a way that I seem unable to at the moment!”

Entertainment

Two-day Christmas fair set for Pembrokeshire

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s annual Christmas Fair will run for two days this year, on Thursday, December 14, and Friday, December 15.

Held at the Parkhouse Building on the Haverfordwest Showground, the venue will transform into a festive shopping destination, offering an expanded range of stalls, live music, Santa’s Grotto, and an outdoor food court.

Expanded event

Event organisers Judith Roach and Emma Thomas expressed their excitement about the extended format. They said:
“We are thrilled to announce that our Christmas Fair will run for two days instead of just one. We are building on last year’s success with twice the opportunities to attend and even more stallholders. The Parkhouse Building will become a one-stop shop for everyone preparing for Christmas.”

The fair will be open from 10:00am to 4:00pm on both days, with free admission for all visitors.

Festive treats and unique gifts

Attendees can expect to browse an extensive selection of unique gifts, handmade decorations, artwork, and homeware. Local food and drink producers will also showcase festive delights, including chocolate brownies, fudge, spirits, and Welsh cheeses.

An outdoor food court will cater for visitors on the go, with a variety of hot and cold options.

Santa’s Grotto

Santa himself will make a special appearance, with children able to visit him for £3 per child. Each child will receive a small gift, with all proceeds going to the Sandy Bear charity. Advance bookings can be made via the Sandy Bear website.

Community effort

Adam Thorne, president of the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society, praised the efforts of the event’s organisers:
“The society would like to thank Judith and Emma for their dedication in organising this two-day event. We’re delighted to offer visitors a chance to do their Christmas shopping while enjoying the festive atmosphere.”

The Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society encourages visitors to follow the Pembrokeshire County Show’s Christmas Fair event page on Facebook for updates and a complete list of stallholders.

The event promises to be a perfect start to the holiday season, welcoming families and shoppers alike.

News

New hope for rare dormouse after forest find

Published

10 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

A RARE hazel dormouse has been discovered in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, bringing fresh hope for the survival of the endangered species in the area.

The golden-brown rodent, known for its distinctive big eyes and long whiskers, has seen a dramatic population decline across Britain—down 70% since 2000. It is now one of seven vulnerable mammals in Wales.

Conservationists made the significant find during a project aimed at linking habitats across the park. Volunteers had set up nesting boxes in the Nevern woodland, roughly five miles west of the dormouse’s known habitat in Pengelli Forest.

A lucky discovery

Park conservationist Mary Chadwick said the team had been trying to connect isolated dormouse populations across the park’s ancient oak woodlands, including Pengelli Forest and areas near the Pentre Ifan Neolithic site.

“We were looking at linking up those important sites and checking whether populations were isolated,” she explained. “A licensed dormouse volunteer took on a new site and set up the boxes. It can take years for dormice to use the boxes, but we got lucky this year.”

The discovery marks the first recorded dormouse population in the Nevern valley, raising hopes for the species’ ability to spread across the landscape and bolster genetic diversity—key to its long-term survival.

Supporting conservation efforts

To ensure a brighter future for dormice, conservationists are calling on farmers and landowners to adopt wildlife-friendly practices, such as cutting hedgerows less frequently.

“We’re asking people to trim hedges on alternate sides each year,” said Ms. Chadwick. “That would be much better for our dormice.”

Building a future

With ongoing conservation efforts and discoveries like this, researchers hope the dormouse can move closer to recovery in Pembrokeshire. The new find has confirmed their belief that dormice could thrive across the Nevern valley, creating vital connections between isolated populations.

*Nesting boxes placed in the forest where dormice were found (Pic: Pembrokeshire Coast National Park)*

Crime

Burglar jailed for stealing cars worth £90,000 from Sinclair Garage

Published

10 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

BRIAN DAVIS, 53, of Bush Street, Pembroke Dock, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to three counts of non-dwelling burglary at Swansea Crown Court.

The court heard that Davis and an accomplice targeted Sinclair Garages in Neyland during the early hours of April 2 last year, stealing four vehicles: a Mercedes CLA, an Audi A1, an Audi Q3, and a Volkswagen Tiguan worth around £90,000 in total.

Sentencing Davis, Judge Paul Thomas KC said the crimes were too severe for a suspended sentence and noted little hope of rehabilitation. “These offences display planning and determination,” the judge remarked.

The burglars forced entry into the garage, using a crowbar to access a key storage board. Nine sets of keys were stolen, allowing them to take multiple vehicles. Prosecutor Matthew Murphy told the court: “The men left with two cars initially, returned 14 minutes later to steal a third, and returned again for a fourth.”

The stolen cars were valued at approximately £90,000. Three vehicles – the Volkswagen Tiguan, Audi A1, and Audi Q3 – were recovered the following day. However, the Mercedes CLA, worth £12,382, was only located in January this year. Damages included £5,541 to replace locks on several vehicles.

Police traced Davis through partial fingerprints found on a glove left in one of the stolen cars. He was arrested after surrendering at Haverfordwest Police Station on August 14.

Struggles with addiction

The court heard Davis had left Pembrokeshire in December, breaching post-sentence supervision for an unrelated offence, to stay with family in Glasgow and recover from drug addiction. Stuart John, defending, explained: “The defendant struggled with heroin addiction from a young age. Family bereavements caused a relapse.”

Mr John noted that Davis had been clean when he returned to Pembrokeshire and voluntarily handed himself in. While in custody, Davis completed courses and attended counselling, demonstrating awareness of the consequences of further drug use.

Recovered vehicles