News

‘Stark’ choices for Pembrokeshire

Published

11 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

Tenby heads for prime time in new BBC murder drama

Published

5 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Steffan Rhodri and Mark Lewis Jones lead major Welsh production as cameras roll in the famous seaside town

TENBY is preparing for a spell in the television spotlight after filming got under way on a major new BBC crime drama set in the heart of the resort town.

Old Town Murders, a new six-part series for BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Cymru Wales, stars Steffan Rhodri and Mark Lewis Jones as two detectives drawn together by personal loss and a string of suspicious deaths in a seemingly idyllic seaside community. The production is being made by Quay Street Productions and is being filmed in Tenby, Cardiff and along the South Wales coastline.

For Pembrokeshire, the announcement is more than just another television commission. It places one of Wales’ best-known coastal towns at the centre of a prime-time BBC drama and offers the kind of exposure that local tourism figures, businesses and residents will immediately recognise.

Tenby’s harbour, narrow streets and postcard setting have long made it one of the country’s most recognisable destinations. Now they are set to become the backdrop to murder, mystery and dark humour for audiences across the UK and beyond.

The series pairs two of Wales’ most recognisable acting talents. Rhodri remains best known to many viewers as Dave Coaches from Gavin and Stacey, while Mark Lewis Jones has built a formidable screen career through roles in productions including The Crown, Keeping Faith and Baby Reindeer.

In Old Town Murders they play DS Sion Dearden and DI Glyn Walsh, two detectives who find themselves thrown together while investigating a series of unusual killings in a close-knit seaside town.

Among the cases promised in the series are the mysterious death of a university professor, the poisoning of a head teacher during a wild swim, and a fatal mix-up linked to a triathlon.

The tone, however, is not being pitched as relentlessly bleak. Instead, the show is being described as witty, twisty and full of warmth, with friendship, second chances and reinvention forming the emotional core of the story.

That may prove to be one of the drama’s biggest strengths. Crime series have become one of television’s most dependable genres, but Old Town Murders appears to be aiming for something slightly different — a coastal whodunnit with a strong Welsh identity, recognisable locations and a central partnership built as much on character as on corpses.

The creative team behind it is also distinctly Welsh. The series has been created and written by Matthew Barry, whose recent credits include Men Up and The Guest. Barry has said he wrote the roles specifically for Rhodri and Lewis Jones after working with them before, suggesting the chemistry between the two leads will be central to the series’ success.

Supporting cast members include James Bamford, Bethan Mary-James, Catherine Ayers and Julie Graham, adding further weight to a production that is already shaping up as one of the BBC’s most notable new Welsh commissions.

There is also an economic angle. The production has support from Creative Wales, meaning the series is not only showcasing West Wales on screen but contributing to the wider Welsh creative economy through jobs and production spend.

No transmission date has yet been announced, but with filming now under way, excitement is likely to build as more residents spot cameras, cast and crew around the town.

For local people, that is part of the appeal. This is not a drama merely inspired by the Welsh coast. It is being made in Wales, by Welsh talent, with Tenby right at the centre of it.

For Pembrokeshire audiences, that alone makes Old Town Murders one to watch.

News

St Davids Cathedral marked Easter Sunday with full day of worship

Published

6 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Tom Sinclair

FROM dawn vigil to choral evensong, the cathedral welcomed worshippers for one of the most important days in the Christian calendar

ST DAVIDS Cathedral marked Easter Sunday (Apr 5) with a full programme of worship, music and celebration.

The day began at 6:00am with the Easter Vigil at the West Front and Nave, sung by the Vicars Choral and Choral Scholars. The service included the lighting of the Easter candle, readings and the first Eucharist of Easter morning.

Worship continued later in the morning with Holy Eucharist at the High Altar at 8:00am, followed by Cymun y Plwyf in the Lady Chapel at 9:30am.

The main Easter Day service took place at 11:00am in the Nave with a Choral Eucharist sung by the Cathedral Choir. The service featured Easter hymns and music, with the Bishop presiding and preaching.

The cathedral’s Easter Sunday celebrations concluded at 4:00pm with Choral Evensong in the Nave, again sung by the Cathedral Choir.

The programme formed part of St Davids Cathedral’s observance of Holy Week and the First Week of Easter, with worshippers and visitors gathering for one of the most significant days in the Church calendar.

Community

Johnston FC pays tribute after sudden death of Rhyan Nolan, 27

Published

7 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Community rallies around grieving family as club honours much-loved player at weekend fixture

JOHNSTON FC paid an emotional tribute at the weekend to Rhyan Nolan after his sudden death at the age of 27.

The club marked the occasion with a flawlessly observed minute’s silence before kick-off, as both teams, officials and supporters came together in his memory.

A signed match ball and Rhyan’s much-worn number ten shirt, covered in messages from team-mates and friends, were also prepared to be handed to his family, who were present for the tribute.

The death of Rhyan has sent shockwaves through the local community, with many gathering around his loved ones in the days since the devastating news emerged.

A fundraiser set up on GoFundMe says his family received the heartbreaking news on Monday that they had lost their “precious, loving son and brother” suddenly at such a young age.

The appeal names his close family as Nichola, Shamus, Brandon, Callum and Lilly, and says relatives are hoping to ease the financial burden while giving Rhyan the send-off he deserves.

It states: “Rhyan deserves a celebration of his short life.”

Johnston FC said it had been a difficult week for all those who knew and loved him, but said it had also been heartwarming to see such an outpouring of love at the match.

The club thanked everyone who helped make the tribute possible, along with those who had sent messages of support and donated towards helping the family.

Photographs shared after the game showed the scale of the moment, with both sides lined up in silence and the orange number ten shirt left covered in handwritten tributes.

For many in attendance, it was a powerful and deeply personal farewell to a young man clearly held in enormous affection.

A GoFundMe appeal has now been launched to support the Nolan family.