WHITLAND Post Office has re-opened its doors under new management, ensuring the restoration of this much-valued service to the community.
Located in the same location, – namely 13 St John Street, SA34 OAN – the post office will provide service for 51 hours a week, between 9 am and 5.30 pm, Monday to Saturday.
The branch temporarily closed in August 2022, following the resignation of the postmaster. Since then, a temporary, part-time mobile Post Office had been operating in the area.
Post Office Area Change Manager, Fiona Shanahan, said: ”We know how important a
Post Office is to a community and we are delighted that the new owner of the store, who
is already an experienced postmaster, has re-opened Whitland Post Office.
“We want to thank the postmaster at Kilgetty for operating the Mobile Post Office
service in the interim, to maintain service to the community.”

CAMPAIGN group ‘PARC Against DARC’ – launched in 2024 in opposition to the proposed US military radar installation at Brawdy – is calling for a county wide response to the official consultation on DARC Radar. 

As part of statutory public engagement obligations, London Based PR corporation Cascade Communications announced the opening of the public consultation on February 22, which will close four weeks later on March 22. They say the MOD will then submit an official planning application to Pembrokeshire County Council after which the local authority is expected to run its own public engagement and consultation process with agencies, stakeholders and the general public.

As a result, PARC Against DARC has launched what they describe as ‘a massive community led response of opposition’ which offers several ways of actively opposing the plans.  They are urging people to visit the consultation page on their website www.parcagainstdarc.com and take part in the consultation response via what they describe as ‘an accessible action-tools with simple one-click’ options to email the consultation and register opposition to the Radar plans. Emails can also be sent to Cascade Communications at: [email protected] directly.

The campaign group has already made significant inroads to stalling the plans in its first two years, with Plaid Cymru and the Green Party firmly supporting the campaign at national Party levels. Thirty eight elected politicians have also supported motions in both the Senedd and Westminster opposing the plans, with many pledging to escalate opposition through parliamentary procedures in both Cardiff and Westminster.

A spokesperson said: “There is already a massive momentum of opposition to this dangerous radar which if ever built would unquestionably be the most powerful, most high-radiation installation ever imposed on British soil. With residents a stone’s throw away from the edge of the base, the MOD’s absolute stone-cold refusal to publish any data for public scrutiny is disgusting, and we deserve better from our government, and the Labour Party. 

“When questioned about this and thousands of studies showing health risks, all the MOD does is trot out one widely-criticised research group that ignores the modern research body on radiation and is under intensive military lobbying influence, and expects residents here to shut up.”

PARC Against DARC claims their petition has been signed by over 18,000 people,while local politicians have pledged to fight the proposals in the High court.

“This is set to be a serious ‘vote killer’ in the upcoming Senedd elections this May,” said the spokesperson.

AN EMERGENCY call for Pembrokeshire’s council to take greater action in safeguarding the future of Withybush hospital is to be heard next week.

At the full council meeting of March 5, an emergency notice of motion by the council’s 11-strong Conservative Party group will demand that the Welsh Government immediately reverses the decision to cease emergency general surgery at Withybush Hospital.

Last year, Hywel Dda University Health Board consulted with its communities on options for change in critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

It said its Clinical Services Plan focuses on nine healthcare services that are “fragile and in need of change”.

The proposed changes included an option for Withybush patients needing specialist critical care being transferred to Glangwili.

At a recent two-day meeting, the board, amongst its many other decisions, backed changes into emergency general surgery which will see no emergency general surgery operations taking place at Withybush, but a strengthening of the same-day emergency care (SDEC).

A petition against the plans already has more than 4,000 signatures and has met an angry response from local politicians and campaigners.

At the March council meeting, the Conservative council group, led by Cllr Di Clements, will say: “The Welsh Government has powers of intervention in Sections 26-28 of the NHS (Wales Act) 2006 which enables it to intervene in decisions made by a health board, in this case the Hywel Dda University Health Board.”

It says that Pembrokeshire residents “have seen continual downgrading of services over the years, and this has been detrimental to all residents,” adding: “We believe this recent decision is life threatening to those who need emergency surgery and a matter of resident’s safety.

“Every hour lost, on average, survival rates decrease by four per cent. Those who live furthest west and north will be affected the most.”

The group adds: “We are concerned especially that this has the huge potential to affect A&E provision. With limited opportunity for doctors to operate we are concerned that our county hospital will be left with few or no senior surgeons and A&E will be forced to close.”

The group has also questioned the accuracy of figures quoted by the First Minister Eluned Morgan on the number of affected patients, saying: “HDUHB own figures for the changes to emergency surgery put the number at nine per week, not five.”

The group has said it “acknowledges that Pembrokeshire County Council has no control over health services in the county, but the 60 county councillors represent approximately 120,000 people who at some point may need hospital services”.

Group leader Cllr Di Clements said: “I am certain the whole county will support our aim to prevent any more downgrading of services at Withybush.

“We are treated like second class citizens, and it is just not good enough.”