A CALL to keep a holiday pod sited on a Pembrokeshire farm, as part of a wider holiday pod farm diversification over two areas which saw the larger part supported, has been approved by county planners.

In an application given delegated approval at the June meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Bill Ridge of Vaynor Farm Ltd, Bethesda, through agent Gerald Blain Associates Limited, sought retrospective permission to keep a self-catering pod at Broomley Farm, Sodston, Narberth, works having been completed in 2022.

The application is part of a wider scheme of holiday pods diversification encompassing two farms.

Back in December 2025, Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee granted delegated retrospective permission to Vaynor Farm Ltd for the siting of two self-catering holiday accommodation pods at The Cart House, Vaynor Farm, Bethesda, near Narberth as part of a farm diversification enterprise.

A supporting statement accompanying the latest application said: “Vaynor farm is a 400-acre working dairy farm with a herd of 700 milking cows. The enterprise comprises of three self-catering pods. Two of the pods are situated at the Vaynor homestead and another at the opposite end of the holding at Broomley farm.

“The first unit was sited adjacent to Vaynor farm stead some four years ago and a further two added in subsequent years. The units have enjoyed successful occupancy rates over several years offering a unique secluded tourism offer on a working dairy farm, more detail of which is outlined within the supporting business plan.”

It said the Broomley farm application before committee was a resubmission of a previously refused scheme, adding: “It should be noted that this application was originally part of [the application] which was recommended approval at planning committee in December 2025. This element however was separated due to its location on another part of Vaynor farm deeming it not possible to be considered under the same application.”

At the December meeting, an officer report said: “A business plan has been submitted with [that] application, which explains that due to uncertainties associated with dairy farming, the applicant has sought to diversify the farm enterprise to incorporate tourism accommodation.”

An officer report accompanying the latest application for members said: “The development of the accommodation pod has led to positive economic and social impacts, evidence has clearly demonstrated how income from the accommodation pods is used to support the overall combined Broomley Farm and Vaynor Farm enterprise.

“The proposed location of the accommodation pod is not considered to have led to an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the area given their siting adjacent to the Broomley Farm farmstead complex.”

Members backed the head of planning being given delegated powers to approve the scheme subject to a Section 106 legal agreement and conditions including the pod be limited to short-term holiday use only.

PEMBROKESHIRE has reached a major digital milestone, with 75% of the county now able to access gigabit-capable broadband.

The figure marks a dramatic rise from just over 5% coverage in 2019, with year-on-year growth driven by public and private investment, community engagement, and support from the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Digital Infrastructure Programme.

Early commercial interest in rural Pembrokeshire was limited, so a strong focus was placed on working with communities to demonstrate demand and remove barriers to deployment. That approach helped create the conditions for competitive investment and has since transformed the local market.

Today, 43.7% of gigabit coverage in Pembrokeshire is delivered by alternative network suppliers, including Ogi, Voneus and local provider Dragon WiFi. Openreach also remains a major network developer in the county and is expected to continue playing a key role.

Cllr Paul Miller, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change at Pembrokeshire County Council, who has had portfolio responsibility for digital infrastructure since 2017, said: “Reaching over 75% gigabit-capable coverage is a major milestone for Pembrokeshire and demonstrates what can be achieved through partnership working.

“In 2019, large parts of the county were being overlooked for investment and just 5% could get gigabit speeds. Since then, working with partners across the sector, approximately 50,000 homes and businesses in Pembrokeshire have been connected.

“While we recognise there is more to do before we reach 100%, the progress so far, particularly given the rural nature of our county, has been incredible.”

Delivery across the county has been supported by a combination of public and private investment, including the Local Full Fibre Networks programme, which connected around 70 public sector sites, the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, Openreach’s Fibre Community Partnerships, Welsh Government’s Access Broadband Cymru grants, planned commercial builds and the Digital Infrastructure Programme’s Better Broadband Infill Project.

Martin Williams, Partnership Director for Wales and the West of England at Openreach, said: “We’re proud to be supporting Pembrokeshire’s digital future, with our full fibre network now reaching 43,000 premises, backed by £12.9m of investment.

“This milestone means faster, more reliable connectivity for homes and businesses across the county, especially in rural areas. Working closely with Pembrokeshire County Council and the UK Government, we’re continuing to bring full fibre to even more communities.”

Pembrokeshire County Council said its Digital Champions have played a key role in increasing connectivity. Through a proactive “barrier-busting” approach, the team has helped streamline internal processes and provide coordination to support suppliers and speed up deployment.

Work will now continue to extend coverage further, particularly in harder-to-reach rural areas, as Pembrokeshire builds the digital foundations needed to support economic growth, public services and resilient local communities.

For more information about connectivity in your area, email [email protected]

Concern mounts over future of production as Wales’ famous bakery battles falling sales and changing consumer tastes

ONE of Wales’ best-known bakery brands is facing a major threat as changing eating habits, rising costs and falling demand for the traditional sliced loaf put pressure on jobs and production.

Brace’s Bakery, founded in 1902, has warned that the market for standard sliced bread has changed dramatically, with the company blaming an “acceleration of the decline in standard sliced bread” for its recent financial pressures.

The issue has now taken on fresh urgency amid fears over the future of production at one of the company’s Welsh sites.

Industry reports have said Brace’s planned to close its Pen-y-Fan Industrial Estate site as part of a wider business “reset”, with production being consolidated at its larger Croespenmaen operation. Earlier reports suggested the company expected fewer than 20 redundancies, with most staff transferring, but latest local reporting has raised concerns among workers that the situation may be moving faster than previously expected.

The company has said the Pen-y-Fan factory has one production line, while Croespenmaen has two sliced bread plants and also produces Welsh cakes, rolls and artisan-style products.

Brace’s director Mark Brace has previously described the pressures facing the industry as severe.

He said: “We are a long-standing family business in a very challenging marketplace as the rest of the baking industry is UK wide.”

He added that since Covid there had been a slow annual decline in standard bread sales, but that in the last two years major competitors such as Kingsmill and Hovis had also seen declines of more than 15 per cent.

Leon James, director of finance at Brace’s, gave an even starker assessment, saying: “There has been a massive reduction in the consumption of standard white bread – and the white loaf is our cash cow.”

He also warned of the difficulty in passing rising costs on to customers, saying: “If we put our prices up, customers will very quickly switch.”

The problem is not unique to Brace’s. Across Britain, the traditional wrapped sliced loaf has been losing ground as shoppers change the way they eat. Market research cited by The Guardian found that sliced loaf bread sales had fallen by around 15 per cent over five years, while only around a third of people now eat sliced loaf bread daily, down from about half in 2015.

Kiti Soininen, head of food and drink research at Mintel, said: “Whenever a new breakfast or lunch option comes into the market, more often than not it’s bread that loses out.”

Younger consumers are increasingly turning to wraps, flatbreads, oats, yoghurt, salads, rice bowls, noodles, sushi and higher-protein meals. At the same time, concerns over ultra-processed foods and refined carbohydrates have pushed some shoppers towards seeded, wholegrain, sourdough and higher-fibre breads.

The UK bread industry is already responding with consolidation. Associated British Foods, the owner of Kingsmill, agreed a £75m deal to buy Hovis, a move expected to create the UK’s biggest bread brand if approved by the Competition and Markets Authority. The deal follows falling sales and losses in parts of the traditional bread sector.

For Wales, however, Brace’s carries a particular significance. This is not just another food manufacturer. It is a household name whose loaves have been bought in corner shops, supermarkets and family kitchens for generations.

The crisis highlights a wider question for Welsh manufacturing: how can long-established family firms survive when consumer habits change faster than factories can adapt?

Brace’s has already shifted more attention towards Welsh cakes, rolls, premium loaves and artisan-style products. But the pressure on the standard sliced loaf remains a serious challenge for a company whose name has long been associated with everyday bread.

Bread itself is not disappearing from Welsh homes. But the kind of bread people buy, and the way they eat it, has changed.

For Brace’s, the future may now depend on whether one of Wales’ most familiar food brands can move beyond the old white sliced loaf without losing the loyalty, identity and scale that made it famous.