Business
Business voices heard as Kurtz and Davies urge action on business rates
LOCAL businesses from across West Wales have voiced serious concerns about the impact of business rates at a dedicated roundtable hosted by Senedd Members Samuel Kurtz MS and Paul Davies MS.
The online Business Rates Forum brought together businesses from the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors, alongside representatives from UK Hospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), PASC UK and the Federation of Small Businesses. Officials from the Welsh Government and the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) also took part.
The forum was convened in response to the forthcoming business rates revaluation in Wales, due to come into force on 1 April 2026. It gave businesses the opportunity to speak directly to policymakers and officials about the pressures facing high streets and employers across West Wales, including rising costs, changing consumer behaviour and ongoing economic uncertainty.
Since December, Samuel Kurtz MS has been examining the likely impact of the revaluation on small businesses in Pembrokeshire, an issue that has attracted significant attention. The move to update rateable values in line with current property market conditions has left some businesses facing substantial increases in their business rates.
Participants heard from the Valuation Office Agency, including Nicola Broadbent, Head of Non-Domestic Revaluation Delivery, who explained how business rates are calculated in Wales, the reasons for the revaluation and how the checks, challenges and appeals process operates. Key differences between the Welsh system and arrangements in England were also outlined.
Industry representatives from UK Hospitality, the BBPA and PASC UK set out what the new rateable values could mean for businesses from April 2026, with a particular focus on small businesses and the hospitality and tourism sectors. Practical examples were shared, alongside common issues being raised by businesses across West Wales.
Welsh Government officials addressed the forum on the reliefs and transitional support currently available, while businesses questioned whether existing schemes go far enough to protect employers facing sharp increases in their rates bills.
A wide-ranging question and answer session followed, during which businesses spoke candidly about the challenges they face, warning that higher business rates could put jobs, investment and long-term viability at risk.
The forum concluded with closing remarks from Paul Davies MS and Samuel Kurtz MS, who committed to ensuring that the concerns raised would inform ongoing representations to the Welsh Government. The Members of the Senedd have arranged dedicated business surgeries and circulated a Business Impact Form to gather further evidence in support of reform. The form is available at: https://www.samuelkurtz.wales/campaigns/business-owners.
Commenting after the forum, Samuel Kurtz MS said:
“Businesses in West Wales are at a cliff edge. That is the clear message we are hearing. Employers are telling us that the current business rates system is placing real strain on high streets at a time when they are already dealing with rising staffing, energy and supply costs. It is vital that the Welsh Government listens to those on the ground who take the risks, provide the jobs and drive the local economy. Policy should encourage investment and growth, not penalise it.”
Paul Davies MS added:
“This forum provided an important opportunity to bring businesses, industry bodies and government officials together for an honest discussion about the pressures facing our local economies. Many firms are already navigating rising costs and uncertainty, and sudden increases in business rates could be the final straw. We need a system that reflects economic reality and supports the small and medium-sized businesses at the heart of our communities.”
Business
Duke of Edinburgh Inn in Newgale on the market for £325,000
A LARGE coastal pub overlooking Newgale Beach has been put up for sale with an asking price of £325,000.
The Duke of Edinburgh Inn, in the heart of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, has been listed by estate agent Sidney Phillips. Set on a site of around an acre, the property enjoys wide sea views and sits just above one of Pembrokeshire’s best-known beaches.
Inside, the venue includes a substantial bar and seating areas with capacity for more than 150 customers. Outside, there is also a sizeable car park said to be able to accommodate over 100 vehicles.
The surrounding landscape is a major selling point, with the Coast National Park forming much of the backdrop — a stretch of protected coastline known for sandy bays, cliffs, estuaries and open hills.



Newgale itself is a popular destination for visitors and water sports enthusiasts, including surfers, windsurfers and canoeists. The beach runs for roughly two miles and is backed by a large pebble bank, created after a significant storm in 1859. The village also has caravan parks, a campsite and local shops.
The pub building is mainly stone and brick with a pitched, tiled roof. The listing notes that planning permission is already in place for changes and refurbishment, giving a buyer scope to update the premises or reshape it more extensively.
Newgale Beach, which the inn overlooks, remains a draw year-round and is particularly busy during the summer months. The area caters for surfing and kitesurfing, with hire and tuition available locally, alongside a café. Public facilities include toilets, and lifeguards typically patrol from June through to the end of September.
Despite the property having suffered notable fire damage, it is being marketed as an opportunity for a buyer looking for a renovation project in a prime coastal location, with views and redevelopment potential at its centre.
Business
Former Halifax in Haverfordwest could soon become new high street nail bar
A CALL to convert a Pembrokeshire town centre former bank to a nail bar has been submitted to county planners.
Huw Tuyen Nguyen, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seeks permission for a change of use of the former Halifax bank at Grade-II-listed 10 Victoria Place, in Haverfordwest’s conservation area, to a nail bar.
Halifax closed its Haverfordwest branch back in 2024, leaving it with no more branches in the county.
A supporting statement accompanying the nail bar application at the three-storey building said: “The previous use of the building, a bank operated by the Halifax, ceased a few years ago and remains vacant making no contribution to the vitality or viability of the town centre.
“This application seeks to put the ground floor to an alternative commercial/retail use and which together with some internal and external alterations, also seeks to convert the upper two floors into a single high-quality flat. The upper floors have largely been under-utilised in the past. As such, the proposal would make a positive contribution to the town centre.”
It cited previous Pembrokeshire County Council policy calling for a need in town centres to “take a more flexible approach to accommodating other non-retail and complementary uses ‘towards making town centres multi-functional places’.”
It went on to say of the change of use to a nail bar: “This part of the application would allow the relocation and expansion of a professional service facility to serve Haverfordwest and the surrounding areas. This forms the basis of aspirations to grow the business, both in the immediate short term, and in the future as the business continues to grow.
“The applicant has explained that the current business is a nail salon which has been trading for some 15 years but under a different management. The applicant has had the business since January 2022.
“The business hours would be 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday but closed on Sundays and which would employ 2/3 people.”
The application will be considered by planners at a later date.
Business
Pembroke Dock battery box energy scheme is approved
FURTHER micro energy storage facility ‘battery box’ schemes in Pembrokeshire have been considered by county planners, with one backed and one withdrawn by the applicants.
In two separate applications to Pembrokeshire County Council, AMP Clean Energy sought permission for micro energy storage projects on land at Waterloo Industrial Estate, Eastern Avenue, Pembroke Dock, and land between Steynton Road and Sheffield Drive, Milford Haven.
A supporting statement accompanying each application says: “AMP Clean Energy is developing Battery Boxes across the UK to provide a low carbon, flexible and de-centralised store of electricity that benefits local communities, businesses, and homes.”
It says the battery boxes import electricity from the local electricity network when demand for electricity is low or when there are high levels of renewable energy available, exporting it back during periods of high demand to help address grid reliability issues prompted by an increase of intermittent (wind and solar) generation.
AMP Clean Energy says it is developing up to 1,250-plus Battery Boxes in the UK over the next three years and, to date, has received planning consent for more than 80 such schemes.
It says each box, which takes up roughly two car parking spaces, stores 800kWh of electricity, giving the potential to power 200 homes for four hours where there is a supply disruption.
The battery box schemes are part of a raft of applications in the county.
AMP was previously granted approval for schemes on land between King Street and Meyrick Street, Pembroke Dock and land in between Castle Quarry and Haven Court, Pembroke.
AMP Clean Energy was also recently granted permission for micro energy storage projects at on a verge at the Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembroke Dock, and land to the south of Withybush Road, Withybush Industrial Estate, Haverfordwest.
However, a scheme for a micro energy storage project on land at Fishguard Leisure Centre Car Park, near Ysgol Bro Gwaun was refused by the council’s planning committee late last year.
That scheme was refused, against an officer recommendation of approval, after concerns were raised including being in “an unsafe, unsustainable and unnecessary location,” and the “nightmare scenario” of a fire as children were leaving the school, with was disputed by AMP’s agent.
The latest Pembroke Dock application was conditionally approved but the Milford Haven scheme has been withdrawn.
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