Local Government

Calls for fairer council tax as scrutiny committee backs relief for holiday lets

Published

8 months ago

September 11, 2025

COUNCILLORS in Pembrokeshire have backed a series of recommendations on Second Home Council Tax, including a proposal to give discretionary relief for holiday cottages.

At the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday (Sept 9), Councillor Huw Murphy, who represents Newport and Dinas, said the current premium of 150 per cent for second homes and 300 per cent for long-term empty properties should remain in place for the 2026/27 financial year.

However, he proposed that Cabinet apply 50 per cent relief for holiday cottages let out between 140 and 182 days a year. If accepted, this would mean those meeting the threshold would pay council tax at 100 per cent instead of 150 per cent, while second homes used solely for private purposes would continue to face the full rate.

The committee backed the recommendation with no votes against.

Financial backdrop

The move comes as Cabinet reviewed first-quarter financial figures on Monday (Sept 8), showing a projected £2.2 million surplus for 2025/26. The Independent Group, the largest in the Chamber, welcomed the easing of pressure on social care budgets and argued that some of the surplus should be used to lessen the burden on council taxpayers.

Councillor Murphy also raised concerns over 1,800 properties in Pembrokeshire on the Non-Domestic Rate system, most of which pay nothing under small business rate relief. He said if they were taxed at an average Band E rate, the county could raise millions more.

“There has to be a fairer Council Tax system that raises revenue in a more cost-effective way,” he said. “The Welsh Government should have been bold and tackled this years ago.”

Tourism and the economy

The committee also criticised the Welsh Government’s retention of the 182-day letting rule for holiday lets, branding it unrealistic for many rural operators. England’s threshold is 105 days.

Councillors said a 140-day target would be more practical and help support smaller tourism businesses, particularly in inland areas outside hotspots like Tenby, St Davids and Newport.

They warned that with around 20 per cent of Pembrokeshire’s workforce employed in tourism, leisure and hospitality, weakening the sector could be a disaster for the county. Declining car park revenue, linked to falling visitor numbers during the cost-of-living crisis, was cited as a sign of strain.

Wider concerns

Councillor Murphy also criticised Welsh Government proposals that self-catering owners should donate two weeks of free rental to charity. He argued that many lets are run by farming families encouraged to diversify in the past but are now penalised by the rules.

The Independent Group reaffirmed support for small business rate relief for pubs, restaurants and attractions, but called for new measures such as reduced vehicle tax in rural counties, noting that poor public transport makes car ownership a necessity.

They said such steps could help reduce rural poverty, protect the Welsh language in its heartlands, and tackle depopulation.

Looking ahead

The Group also called for action to make Pembrokeshire more attractive to younger people to counterbalance the county’s ageing population. Without it, they warned, the future of local services and funding would come under increasing strain.

Local Government

Dog beach restrictions return across Pembrokeshire from Friday

Published

5 hours ago

April 29, 2026

Tom Sinclair

DOG owners are being reminded that seasonal restrictions on some of Pembrokeshire’s most popular beaches come back into force from Friday (May 1).

The restrictions run each year from May 1 until September 30 and apply to a number of beaches across the county during the busiest months of the visitor season.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s current guidance states that some beaches are subject to either full or partial dog bans during the summer period. Maps showing where dogs can and cannot be walked are available online and are also displayed at the affected beaches.

The council says the restrictions are in place primarily to protect the interests of bathers and other beach users during the summer season, when beaches are at their busiest.

There are only two beaches in Pembrokeshire where a total summer dog ban applies.

From Friday (May 1), dogs are not allowed on Tenby North Beach or Whitesands, St Davids, until the restrictions are lifted again on October 1.

Partial bans are in place at Lydstep, Newgale beach and promenade, Saundersfoot beach and promenade, Tenby Castle and South Beach, Amroth beach and promenade, Poppit Sands, Broad Haven North, and Dale.

Visit Pembrokeshire also lists dog restriction maps for Coppet Hall, which has previously been described by the council as a voluntary restriction area.

Check signs before walking

THE restrictions do not mean dogs are banned from the whole of every beach listed under the partial ban.

In many cases, parts of the beach remain available for dog walking, but owners are urged to check the signs and maps before heading onto the sand.

The signs at each location show the areas where dogs are banned, areas where dogs are allowed, and areas where dogs must be kept on leads.

At Tenby, the rules affect several beach areas. Tenby North Beach is subject to a full seasonal ban, while Tenby South Beach and Castle Beach are covered by partial restrictions.

At Newgale, the restriction also includes the promenade and pebble bank. At Saundersfoot and Amroth, the restrictions include the promenade areas.

Poppit Sands, Broad Haven North, Dale and Lydstep are also covered by partial seasonal restrictions, with mapped areas showing where dogs are allowed.

Majority of beaches still dog-friendly

DOG owners are also being reminded that the majority of Pembrokeshire’s beaches remain dog-friendly throughout the year.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority says dogs are welcome on more than 50 beaches in the county, although some have seasonal restrictions or restricted areas between May and the end of September.

Guide dogs are exempt from the restrictions.

The current council list of affected beaches is:

Total dog bans from May 1 to September 30

Tenby North Beach
Whitesands, St Davids

Partial dog bans from May 1 to September 30

Lydstep
Newgale beach and promenade
Saundersfoot beach and promenade
Tenby Castle and South Beach
Amroth beach and promenade
Poppit Sands
Broad Haven North
Dale

Additional mapped restriction

Coppet Hall — listed by Visit Pembrokeshire among the dog restriction beach maps and previously described by the council as voluntary.

Enforcement over summer

Pembrokeshire County Council says leisure staff enforce the bans throughout the summer months.

Breaches of the byelaws can lead to enforcement action, and the council has previously said the maximum penalty is £500.

The council has also reminded dog owners that they must clean up after their pets on all Pembrokeshire beaches, whether or not a seasonal restriction applies.

In recent years, the council has said officers would focus on education in the first instance, with warnings issued for first offences before fixed penalty notices were considered for repeat breaches or failure to leave a restricted area when asked.

Owners are being urged to check the beach signs, follow the marked zones, keep dogs under control, and clean up after them.

The restrictions will remain in place until Wednesday, September 30. Dogs will be welcome back on the restricted beaches from Thursday, October 1.

Local Government

Fishguard children’s home application is a ‘legal test’, not planning merits decision

Published

15 hours ago

April 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Town council objected over highway safety and parking, but PCC says policy issues are not part of the certificate process

CONCERNS raised by Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council over a proposed children’s home at Bryn Delyn, Y Fraich, may not be considered in the same way as objections to a normal planning application, Pembrokeshire County Council has confirmed.

The town council’s planning committee discussed application 25/0948/CL on Monday (Apr 20), relating to the proposed use of Bryn Delyn as a children’s home.

Members are understood to have objected on highway safety and parking grounds, amid concerns about the suitability of the site and surrounding roads.

However, Pembrokeshire County Council has clarified that the application has been submitted under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

This means the applicant is seeking a Certificate of Lawfulness to determine whether the proposed use of the property would be lawful and would not require planning permission.

A council spokesperson said the purpose of the submission was to determine whether the proposed use of Bryn Delyn, as described in the documents, would be lawful.

They said: “The onus lies with the applicant to provide sufficient evidence for the Local Planning Authority to determine the application on the balance of probabilities.

“Adopted planning policy and the planning merits of the proposed use/development are not for consideration by the LPA.”

The council also confirmed that, unlike ordinary planning applications, there is no statutory duty for the Local Planning Authority to publicise or consult on submissions made under section 192.

No formal consultation has been carried out with the council’s Highways Department.

However, the council said it had used its discretion to advertise the certificate of lawful development submission by displaying a site notice.

The spokesperson added that this was done in case members of the public had their own evidence to present which could be of value when determining the submission.

The clarification means the council’s decision will focus on the legal position and the facts of the proposed use, rather than wider planning policy, parking concerns or highway safety issues in the usual planning sense.

The application remains under consideration.

Cover image is a rough artists impression created by The Pembrokeshire Herald

Community

Tenby Brynhir estate will not home ‘illegal immigrants’

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

CLAIMS Tenby’s Brynhir housing development will house “illegal immigrants” through purchases by an English council have been refuted by Pembrokeshire County Council.

Back in 2024, the scheme, with nearly 100 “local houses for local people” was approved by national park planners.

In 2018, Pembrokeshire County Council, which already owned the 15-acre Brynhir site on the edge of Tenby, ‘bought’ the land for £4million using its Housing Revenue Account.

Campaigners fought a two-year battle against the use of the land for housing, calling for protection for ‘Tenby’s last green space’ and fearing it would become a ‘concrete jungle’.

The county council was granted outline planning permission by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority for the development of 144 properties – including up to 102 affordable units – in 2020.

The later 2024 scheme proposed that only 125 houses be built, 93 of them affordable, and, of the 32 open market dwellings, 16 are shared ownership properties.

Tenby Civic Society has raised numerous concerns to the scheme and 20 objections were also received from members of the public, raising concerns including loss of green space, traffic issues, privacy, design, visual impacts and the scale of the development, sewage capacity, the site being no longer allocated for housing, potential antisocial behaviour within the play area, and a limitation on second homes/holiday lets being required.

At the September meeting, concerns about the proposal were raised by Jane Merrony of 1,100-member Tenby Green Space Preservation Society, who said it was inappropriate in its proposed location and “a visual intrusion which will be seen from Caldey Island”.

Since that approval, initial construction for the site started late last year.

The full development is set to be finished by 2029.

However, fears have been raised that some of the site will house “illegal immigrants” via an English council.

A member of the public raised their concerns saying: “Unconfirmed rumours have it that Liverpool City Council has bought houses in the development as their waiting list is so long due to illegal immigrants being housed in their stock, making it a 10-year waiting list to get local housing in Liverpool.

“Does this mean that Liverpool City Council will be offloading illegals onto the Tenby social housing?”

They added: “When the planning permission was going through, we were informed that all the housing would be mixed council, open-market and association houses with a covenant saying that you had to live, work or have links to the area to be considered for any of the units.”

Responding, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson said: “These rumours are untrue. This site is owned and managed by the local authority. Allocations will be made to those from our Choice Homes register in accordance with a local connection lettings policy that will be developed in conjunction with the local town and community councils, and local community, in due course.”