A PEMBROKESHIRE nursery which received a council grant for a covered play area has been given the go-ahead by planners to be allowed keep it; the applicants not realising it needed official permission to build.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council planners, Victoria Christie sought retrospective permission for a covered external play area, built last year, at ABC Pre-School Nursery, Castle High, Haverfordwest.

A supporting statement through agent Ian Bartlett Planning and Architectural Services said: “Children are always supervised. Prior to the erection of the timber structure as a covering to part of the play area, this area was open and its use weather dependant.  It is understood that current guidelines are that covered play areas should be provided to cater for children’s needs.

“The applicant had erected the timber structure with grant assistance from Pembrokeshire County Council but had not appreciated that planning permission was required.”

It added the timber covered area allowed children a chance “to play in a safe and secure environment and enjoy some of messier play experiences in a covered area”.

It finished: “The proposed development is considered to comply with all relevant Local Development Plan policies. The granting of consent will allow the nursery to fulfil its obligations in terms of childcare guidance and will continue to enhance the experience for children using the facility.  It has been demonstrated that no adverse issues are raised by this proposal, and it is policy compliant.”

An officer report, recommending conditional approval, said: “The siting of the covered play area has benefited the economy by providing work within the construction industry and generate income for materials suppliers and distributors,” adding: “There are no adverse environmental impacts associated with the siting of the covered play area”.

It went on to say: “Whilst the pre-school grounds lie adjacent to existing residential development, the covered play area is located 11.6 metres external wall to external wall, from any residential dwelling.

“As such, there is no detrimental impact on the privacy or amenity of neighbouring properties,” finishing: “It is considered that the application would comply with the policies of the Pembrokeshire Local Development Plan and that planning permission shall be granted.”

TWO PEMBROKESHIRE libraries are to see their opening hours cut as part of a council budget saving target of £250,000.

At the March meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, members were asked to make changes to library service provision in parts of the county, as part of steps to reduce service costs, following recent a public consultation and the Library Needs Assessment.

The proposals, initially for changes to three county libraries, Pembroke, Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven, are part of wider changes to generate a total saving of £250,000 per annum, based on a 20 per cent savings target for the service as part of the agreed 2025-’26 budget.

It was proposed to make changes at Pembroke library, for a saving of £6,800, Pembroke Dock library (£12,000), and Milford Haven library (£13,000).

Pembroke library will see its hours reduced by eight per week, adopting the timetable which had the highest community support, by closing on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1pm.

Pembroke Dock library is to lose seven hours, closing at 1pm on Thursdays and at 4pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A formal consultation exercise ran between January and February, with the reductions in hours proposed at Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, and, in the case of Milford, the proposal was either to relocate the library to a smaller/cheaper premises or establish a Community Managed Partnership at the current library.

The situation at Milford Haven is to remain unchanged in the short term after the Port of Milford Haven and Milford Haven Town Council came forward with a combined financial support package of £13,000 for the 2025/26 year, with works ongoing to find a longer term financially sustainable solutions for the library.

Presenting the report to Cabinet members, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett, who moved the recommendations, said Milford differed from the other two libraries due to the additional short-term funding received.

“Milford haven town Council and the Port of Milford Haven stepped forward to fill that gap, in effect it buys us some time to look at the options going forward; in Milford what we’ve done in effect is to buy a year’s grace.”

Members heard the near-£32,000 savings outlined were a small part of the hoped-for overall savings for the service.

Seconding approval, Leader Cllr Jon Harvey highlighted the importance of libraries “not just for lending books,” but for providing ‘warm spaces’ and locations for other community facilities.

The proposals were unanimously supported by Cabinet members.

A CALL to replace a Pembrokeshire community wind turbine which has raised more than £76,000 for local groups with a larger one has been backed once again despite a second recommendation to refuse.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council’s March planning committee meeting, Abergwaun Community Turbine Ltd, through agent Machynlleth-based Dulas Ltd sought permission for a larger turbine to replace the existing Abergwaun Community Turbine.

The proposed turbine, in a pasture field at Trebover Farm, to the south of Fishguard, would be 67m tall, the existing 2015 one – granted on appeal – being 45 metres.

In supporting statements, parent company Transition Bro Gwaun said: “The Community Climate Fund (CCF) is the mechanism by which Transition Bro Gwaun (TBG) is fulfilling our ambition of funding projects in Fishguard, Goodwick and across North Pembrokeshire, using income from the community wind turbine.

“The core themes for grants are climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhancement of biodiversity and improvements to community resilience through promotion of community engagement and resource sharing.”

Profit generated by sale of electricity from the turbine is split 50:50 between TBG and Parcy-Morfa Farms Ltd through the jointly-owned trading arm, Abergwaun Community Turbine, with community grants awarded through TBG’s Community Climate Fund, amounting to £76,036 to date.

2024 awards of £20,917 were made to six projects, including Theatr Gwaun, Parc Cerrig Growers, Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture, and Nevern Valley Veg.

The scheme was recommended for refusal on the grounds including “significant detrimental visual impact” on the area, “including areas of high sensitivity in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and in Fishguard,” on the Conservation Areas of Goodwick, Fishguard and Lower Town, Fishguard.

The scheme had previously been ‘minded to’ backed at the January planning committee, against officer recommendations for refusal, meaning it returned to a later committee for ratification after a ‘cooling-off’ period, this time the March meeting.

At the March meeting, members heard previous concerns by the nearby national park were no longer being made, with Andy Anderson of Scleddau Community Council speaking in favour of both the local community benefits – including funding for solar panels on the local football club – and the community being “well used” to the existing turbine.

Agent Paul Cowley said part of the application for the larger turbine was the existing machine showing signs of gearbox wear, and the proposal helping the county meet its ‘net zero’ green energy target.

Moving approval, Cllr John T Davies said it was “significant” the national park was no longer raising concerns, attempting to allay noise concerns made at the meeting by local resident Neil Morris, by saying larger turbines were less of a concern as they rotated less.

A voice of concern, however, was Cllr Brian Hall, who suggested turbines in his own ward had affected property values by as much as £100,000.

The application to approve, against officer recommendations, was passed by 10 votes to three, with one abstention.