A RESPONSE from the UK Government has failed to provide any clarity over whether Castlemartin Training Camp – or the former Penally camp – is being considered for use as asylum accommodation.

Samuel Kurtz MS had written to the Home Secretary on 4 and 13 November, seeking assurances for local residents following growing speculation about the use of military sites. A reply dated Wednesday, November 26, from Alex Norris MP, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, confirms that the Home Office is assessing “a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites” as part of its plan to close asylum hotels.

However, the minister refused to confirm which locations are under review, stating that the Home Office “does not disclose information about accommodation sites which may or may not be utilised to the general public.”

The Pembrokeshire MS said the lack of detail leaves rural communities without the assurances they need.

Defence concerns over Castlemartin

Mr Kurtz said Castlemartin is a vital strategic asset and must remain fully available for the Armed Forces, particularly as it is one of the UK’s few live tank-firing ranges.

He warned that, at a time of international instability, any repurposing of the site would be inappropriate and would undermine crucial training capability for both UK forces and NATO partners.

Call for transparency

Mr Kurtz has vowed to continue pressing UK ministers for:

• a clear statement on whether Castlemartin is under consideration
• full consultation with local representatives and residents
• assurances that rural communities will not be excluded from the decision-making process

He said residents deserve openness and certainty, especially given Pembrokeshire’s previous experience when Penally was used as an asylum facility with little warning.

Ongoing concern

The Home Office letter states that all accommodation sites will be required to meet safety, security and wellbeing standards, and decisions will be taken on a “site-by-site basis”. But it offers no reassurance regarding Pembrokeshire specifically.

Mr Kurtz is urging local people to continue sharing concerns with him as he seeks further answers from the UK Government.

Find comes months after Russian vessel monitored off Pembrokeshire coast

A SUSPECTED Russian sonobuoy – the type used to track submarine movements – has been recovered from the seabed off Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, just months after a notorious Russian surveillance ship was monitored operating off the Welsh coast.

Volunteer divers from Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners (NARC) made the discovery on Saturday, November 15, during one of their routine seabed clean-ups near Wooltack Point. The cylindrical device, thick with barnacles and marine growth, appears consistent with equipment used by foreign militaries for underwater monitoring. The team also removed several discarded fishing weights from the conservation area.

Sonobuoys are normally deployed from aircraft and are used to detect submarine activity. Some operate passively by listening for acoustic signatures through hydrophones, while others emit sound pulses and analyse returning echoes before transmitting data back to aircraft or nearby vessels.

The object has now been handed to the relevant authorities for formal assessment.

Heightened tensions at sea

The timing of the discovery has sharpened local concerns, coming in the same week Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the Russian spy ship Yantar has been operating on the edge of UK territorial waters.

RAF pilots monitoring the vessel reported that lasers were directed at their aircraft – an action Mr Healey described as “deeply dangerous”. He added that the UK has “military options ready” should the vessel head further south.

Yantar is known within NATO for its deep-sea intelligence capabilities, including the ability to locate, map and potentially tamper with critical undersea infrastructure. This includes fibre-optic communications cables, energy pipelines and data routes vital to the UK’s economy and national security.

It is the second time this year the vessel has entered wider UK waters. In July 2025, Yantar was tracked off the Pembrokeshire coast, prompting RAF surveillance flights and a Royal Navy frigate to be dispatched to shadow it. At the time, defence officials told The Herald the ship was “lingering unusually close to sensitive undersea cables”.

Local concerns and unanswered questions

While the origins of the object discovered off Skomer have not yet been confirmed, its presence near a protected Welsh marine reserve has raised eyebrows among security specialists.

Experts note that sonobuoys can be lost or abandoned during military exercises, and it is not yet clear whether the device is Russian, British or from any other nation. However, the combination of recent Russian naval behaviour, the location of the find and the increasing strategic focus on undersea infrastructure makes the discovery particularly notable.

Skomer and the surrounding waters form one of Wales’ most important marine conservation zones, attracting thousands of visitors and researchers every year. The area is protected for its seabird colonies, grey seals and rich underwater habitats.

NARC, which has removed more than 1,000 tonnes of debris from Welsh waters over the past two decades, say they will continue their regular programme of clean-ups to protect the site from hazards.

A spokesperson for the group said further details about the recovered device will be released once authorities have completed their analysis.

Pembrokeshire suddenly thrust into front line of UK rearmament drive after damning defence committee report saying is “nowhere near” prepared for war

MILFORD HAVEN has been confirmed as one of just two prospective sites in Wales for a major new UK munitions factory, as MPs warn that Britain is “nowhere near” prepared to defend itself from a modern military attack.

A hard-hitting report from the House of Commons defence committee, published early this morning (Wed, Nov 19), concludes that the UK lacks a coherent plan to protect itself or its overseas territories, at a time when security threats across Europe are “significant” and rapidly escalating.

The committee says the UK is failing to meet its NATO obligations and has fallen “far short of its claimed leadership position”. It raises particular concerns about Britain’s lack of air and missile defences, slow civil-defence preparation, and heavy reliance on the United States for critical military capabilities.

The report lands on the same day that the Ministry of Defence formally identified 13 possible locations for a new network of explosives and energetics factories – and Milford Haven is on the list.

Milford on a shortlist of 13 – and one of only two in Wales

Defence Secretary John Healey will this week unveil plans to return the UK to “war-fighting readiness”, restarting domestic production of energetics – the highly specialised explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics essential for modern weapons systems.

For the first time, the MoD has publicly listed the regions it is considering.

In Wales, there are only two candidates:

• Monmouthshire, and
• Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

Milford Haven’s inclusion places the town firmly inside a national defence restructuring effort worth £1.5bn and expected to deliver at least six new munitions plants before the 2029 General Election. Work on the first sites is intended to begin next year.

The MoD has not published exact site boundaries, but the Haven’s obvious candidate is the long-dormant armament complex at Newton Noyes/Black Bridge, a former Royal Naval Mining Depot with underground magazines, rail links and direct access to a deep-water port.

The depot, built in the 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War, remains one of the few purpose-constructed subterranean munitions storage systems in the UK.

UK warned it is “not ready” as threats grow

The timing of Milford Haven’s appearance on the defence shortlist is striking.

After an 11-month inquiry, MPs on the defence committee warn that:

Britain has “next to nothing” in integrated air and missile defence,

the UK and Europe remain dangerously reliant on US support,

civil-defence preparations have progressed at a “glacial pace”,

and the UK’s ability to resist a modern armed attack may fall short of Article 3 NATO obligations.

Committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said the public must be more honestly informed about the “level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict.”

He added: “Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the Armed Forces.”

Why Milford? Deep-water access, freeport status, and a ready-made site

Although no final decision has been made, defence analysts say Milford Haven has several features the MoD is likely to prioritise:

Deep-water access for shipment of munitions.

Existing hazardous-industry zoning due to LNG terminals and refineries.

Celtic Freeport status, offering flexible planning and tax incentives.

Historical armaments infrastructure, including covered tunnels and magazines.

Strategic position on the western flank of NATO’s air and sea routes.

The choice of Milford is also consistent with the MoD’s wider strategy to spread munitions and explosives manufacturing across the UK, reducing reliance on a small number of ageing sites such as Glascoed in Monmouthshire.

In Milford HAven, the most obvious candidate is the dormant RNAD Blackbridge / Newton Noyes complex on the banks of Castle Pill — the deep-cut tunnels and reinforced magazines built before the Second World War to store and load naval mines.

The site has been fenced off and unused for years, but remains one of the few purpose-built underground armament depots with direct deep-water access anywhere in the UK.

A site left empty after £685m renewable-energy plan collapsed

Locals will remember that Blackbridge only narrowly escaped a very different future.

In 2018, the site was tied to a huge £685m green-energy project proposed by Egnedol. The company had bought both the old armament depot and the former Waterston refinery with plans to build an advanced biomass and renewables complex expected to create over 500 jobs.

However, after an 18-month planning inquiry, Welsh Government ministers rejected the scheme. A planning inspector found the development would cause “unacceptably harmful” impacts on the local landscape, with major ecological concerns and “important shortcomings” in environmental data.

Since then, the tunnels and magazines at Blackbridge have remained empty, idle and largely untouched.

Now, in a dramatic shift of context, the MoD is considering bringing the site back to its original purpose — not clean energy, but munitions and explosives manufacturing.

Conservative Sam Kurtz MS was happy with the news. He said:” I’m pleased to see Pembrokeshire highlighted by the UK Government.

“Having written to the Secretary of State for Defence back in June to set out Pembrokeshire’s strategic importance, and having raised the issue on several occasions in the Senedd Chamber, this could mark encouraging progress for both our local economy and our national security.

“Pembrokeshire has a proud military heritage, and there is no reason it cannot be at the forefront of our military present and future. I will continue to work with Paul Davies MS to champion our County.”

Jobs boost – or risk to the Haven’s image?

A new munitions plant could bring hundreds of skilled technical and engineering jobs, along with guaranteed long-term MoD contracts and supply-chain work for Welsh firms.

But the proposal will divide opinion:

Some will welcome a stable, high-paid manufacturing base at a time when the energy sector is in transition.

Others will raise questions about safety, environmental impact, the Haven’s reputation as a tourism gateway, and the symbolism of returning explosives production to a town long known for its oil and gas terminals.

Environmental groups have previously warned that further hazardous development must be balanced carefully within the protected marine environment of the Haven waterway.

What happens next?

John Healey (pictured) is expected to provide additional detail in a speech on Wednesday, alongside confirmation of two new drone-manufacturing centres in Plymouth and Swindon.

The MoD says at least six of the thirteen shortlisted sites will be chosen for development, with construction expected to begin in 2026.

Local councils – including Pembrokeshire County Council and the Port Authority – are likely to be contacted shortly for technical assessments and land-availability studies.

A full public consultation is expected if Milford Haven is formally proposed.

For now, Milford is simply on the map. But for a town whose wartime tunnels have lain silent for 40 years, today’s announcement is the clearest signal yet that the UK’s new defence era may begin in places long thought forgotten.