PLANS for a bungalow behind a Pembrokeshire village shop have been refused by the county council, in part due to concerns about foul waste disposal and no formal affordable housing financial commitment being offered.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Cathy Williams of Bwlchygroes Shop & Farm Feeds sought outline permission for a dormer bungalow in a garden area to the rear of the shop.

An officer report recommending refusal said: “The proposed development would provide new open market housing within the settlement boundary of Bwlchygroes, which would benefit the economy by providing work within the construction industry and generate income for material suppliers and distributors.

“New housing can have both social and environmental benefits in terms of improving the condition and size of housing stock to meet modern needs and improve living conditions and constructing to modern building standards.

“ However, detailed matters considered in the remainder of the report conclude that environmental impacts have not been adequately addressed by the submission, and as such, the development fails to accord [with policy].”

It adds: “Although the proposed residential development would be located in a sustainable location, the applicant has not submitted a Unilateral Undertaking in order to secure a financial contribution towards affordable housing.

“The settlement of Bwlchygroes currently stands at a 10 per cent affordable housing contribution fee for the area, equating to £5,087.50 per proposed dwelling.”

Officer concerns were also raised about the disposal of foul waste, the site being within the catchment of the Afon Teifi Special Area of Conservation (SAC), with “insufficient information has been provided to reasonably conclude that the proposal would not have an adverse impact on the integrity of the SAC”.

The application states that a cesspool would be used for the disposal of foul waste, but, officers say it “fails to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that a package treatment plant is unable to be accommodated”.

It also says: “The application scale parameters, even at the minimum extent, would not appear to leave sufficient room within the site to accommodate an acceptable foul and surface water disposal system”.

The application was refused by planning officers.

PLANS to build a new slurry lagoon at a 650-dairy herd Pembrokeshire farm have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Richard Morris of Bowett Ltd sought permission for the construction of the lagoon, and associated works, at Quoits Hill Farm, Bentlass Road, Hundleton, near Pembroke.

A supporting statement through agent Cynllunio RW Planning Ltd stressed the applicant does not intend to increase livestock numbers on farm as a result of this 60 by 35 metre development.

“The Morris Family farm at Quoits Hill Farm and specialise in dairy farming. The farm is home to approximately 650 dairy cows plus followers. The herd is autumn calving with milk sold to Laprino. The home farm is grass based and extends to over 300 acres, with more off lying land utilised for growing winter forage.

“The family have invested significantly in recent years in on farm infrastructure to include a rotary milking parlour, silage clamps and covered feed yards.”

It added: “The proposed development seeks to increase the farms slurry storage capacity to above the five-month storage required by NVZ regulations. The existing slurry store and slurry handling facilities are not adequate to comply with the new regulations.”

It went on to say: “The proposed store will provide the farm with 6452 cubic meters of storage capacity (minus freeboard) which will equate to over 171 days storage.  It is proposed to use the existing field slurry store as a lightly fouled water store to collect the parlour washings and reduce the size of the store required. Slurry will continue to be scrapped into the existing yard store and then pumped to the new store when required. This work will be monitored closely to reduce the risk of any leakage.”

It concluded: “The proposed development will enable slurry to be spread during the growing season rather than during more difficult weather conditions in the winter. This will be of benefit to farm efficiency and the wider environment.”

The application was conditionally approved.

Roch postmaster among those still seeking compensation

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public money continuing to use the discredited Horizon IT system—despite accepting more than a decade ago that it needed replacing.

New documents reveal that then Prime Minister Tony Blair and senior Labour ministers were warned as far back as 1999 about serious flaws in the original £548 million deal with Fujitsu. A Treasury memo at the time flagged that the Post Office would not own the core computer code, leaving them locked into the supplier and vulnerable to spiralling costs. Officials warned Fujitsu could use the situation to “drive a costly settlement.”

Since then, the total spent on Horizon contracts has reached £2.5 billion, including £600 million spent since 2012 when the Post Office first admitted it needed to move on from the system. Replacement efforts have repeatedly failed, with a £40 million IBM project abandoned in 2016 and another attempt scrapped in 2022.

The latest replacement project—an internal system called New Branch IT (NBIT)—has run into delays and ballooning costs, with estimates now topping £1 billion. Despite past failings, the Post Office and Fujitsu are expected to remain in partnership until at least 2030.

The scandal surrounding Horizon continues to grow, following the wrongful prosecution of over 900 sub-postmasters. Although private prosecutions based on Horizon data were halted in 2015, campaigners say the damage done is still being felt by victims across the UK—including here in Pembrokeshire.

One of them is Tim Brentnall, who was just 22 when he and his parents bought the Roch Post Office. In 2010, he was prosecuted after a £22,500 shortfall appeared in the accounts—despite doing nothing wrong. Advised to plead guilty, he received an 18-month suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service. His conviction was quashed in 2021.

Earlier this year, Brentnall told the BBC he was “in disbelief” after being offered less than 17% of the compensation he had claimed. The offer came with a 50-page letter rejecting much of his legal and forensic case, and over 15,000 documents to sift through. He is now re-submitting the claim.

“There are people far older than me who should be enjoying their lives now,” he said. “Instead, they’re still fighting. People are dying without seeing justice. It’s not right.”

The Post Office says it is “fundamentally changing” as an organisation and has paid out more than £768 million to over 5,100 people affected by the Horizon scandal. However, many victims and campaigners say the compensation process remains slow, unfair, and deeply distressing.

Postal minister Gareth Thomas recently confirmed a further £276.9 million in government funding for the Post Office, including £136 million for future IT projects. He said the continued use of Horizon reflected “past underinvestment” and that postmasters needed better tools going forward.

A spokesperson for Tony Blair said the former PM took concerns over the Horizon contract seriously at the time and acted on independent advice. “It is now clear the Horizon product was seriously flawed. Mr Blair has deep sympathy for those affected.”

A separate 1999 memo was also sent to then-Chancellor Gordon Brown, but a spokesperson for Mr Brown said he would not have seen it and had no involvement in awarding the contract.

Despite public statements about reform, doubts remain over whether NBIT will ever be delivered—and whether true justice will ever be achieved for those whose lives were torn apart by the Horizon scandal.