SAUNDERSFOOT HARBOUR’S redevelopment has been named Best Project at the RTPI Cymru Awards for Planning Excellence 2026.

The award recognises Phase 2 of the Saundersfoot Harbour Redevelopment Project, which has helped transform the harbour into a year-round destination with new commercial, community and visitor facilities.

Delivered by Saundersfoot Harbour, with planning input from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, the project was praised by judges as “an exemplar for coastal economic resilience in smaller settlements” and “a very good example of planning enabling place-based regeneration.”

Judges highlighted the scheme’s economic and community benefits, including investment, job creation, new local business space, improved public access, year-round activity, major events, and the reuse of brownfield and heritage assets.

They also recognised the role of planners in dealing with design changes, conservation area issues, flood risk, accessibility, and the coordination of several linked schemes within a working harbour.

Sara Morris, Director of Place and Engagement at Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said the award was a testament to the value of good planning.

She said: “We are delighted that Phase 2 of the Saundersfoot Harbour Redevelopment Project has been recognised by RTPI Cymru.

“This award is a real testament to the value of good planning in helping places adapt, thrive and deliver lasting benefits for their communities.

“Saundersfoot Harbour is a hugely important location, both locally and strategically, and this project shows how careful planning can support regeneration while respecting the character, heritage and environmental challenges of a coastal setting.

“I would particularly like to thank Andrew Richards and Nicola Gandy, who both led on the planning aspects of the project for the Authority.

“The judges’ comments underline the strength of the partnership approach behind the project, and we are very pleased to see the work of our planning team recognised alongside Saundersfoot Harbour’s ambition and commitment.”

Ted Sangster, Chairman of Saundersfoot Harbour Commission, congratulated the National Park Authority on the award.

He said: “As a trust port, we operate very much as a commercial business but with no shareholders and therefore no dividends to pay. Our strategy is to provide real, long-term benefit for our community and all users of the harbour.

“The successful Phase 2 of the harbour development now provides both an active fishing and recreational sailing harbour and a year-round visitor attraction serving an increasingly diverse range of users, and has created around 100 new jobs so far.

“Our work with local businesses and stakeholders has been greatly assisted by the open and consultative partnership with the National Park, which is based on the shared aim of sustainable economic delivery and social benefit to our community.”

As winner of the Best Project category in Wales, the Saundersfoot Harbour project will now be automatically entered as a finalist in the UK National Awards for Planning Excellence.

The national finalists are due to be announced by the RTPI on October 7, ahead of the UK national finals on December 3.

The National Park Authority also welcomed recognition for the Dark Skies Guidance for Wales, which won the Chair’s Award at the RTPI Cymru Awards.

The guidance was developed by a working group from across Wales, including the Authority’s Principal Planning Officer for Strategic Policy, Gayle Lister.

Sara Morris added: “It is particularly pleasing to see the Dark Skies Guidance for Wales recognised alongside the Saundersfoot Harbour project.

“Protecting dark skies is an important part of caring for the special qualities of Wales’ landscapes, and this guidance reflects the value of collaboration across planning, conservation and environmental disciplines.”

The RTPI Cymru Awards for Planning Excellence celebrate outstanding plans, projects and people that demonstrate the power of planning to make a positive difference to places and communities.

Engineering, fintech and beauty brands feature in national growth rankings

THREE Welsh businesses have been named among Britain’s 100 fastest-growing companies, highlighting the growing diversity of Wales’ scale-up economy.

Avantis Group, an engineering business delivering marine and offshore energy upgrade projects, was the highest-ranked Welsh company in the ORESA Executive Search Growth Index 2026.

The company placed 43rd nationally after achieving two-year compound annual revenue growth of 105.9%.

It was joined on the list by fintech firm ANNA Money, ranked 56th, and fast-growing beauty brand Hair Syrup, ranked 67th.

Orlando Martins, founder of Growth Index, said the results showed the strength and breadth of Wales’ business community.

He said: “Wales continues to produce ambitious companies across a wide range of sectors.

“What is particularly encouraging is the range of businesses, both in the top 100 and among the companies that narrowly missed out, from engineering and fintech to consumer brands.”

Now in its fifth year, the ORESA Executive Search Growth Index ranks the 100 fastest-growing companies in the UK.

This year’s list points to the resilience of Britain’s scale-up economy, with the average company achieving compound annual revenue growth of 136.1% over two years.

Together, the Growth Index 100 generated more than £11 billion in annual revenues, with businesses on the list ranging from data centres and art galleries to GB News and Popeyes UK.

Financial services remained the largest sector represented, accounting for a quarter of all companies featured.

Healthcare also continued to rise, helped by strong performances from biotechnology businesses, while retail enjoyed a resurgence after several more difficult years.

The report also notes that pure-play AI businesses are beginning to make a visible impact on the rankings, although they have not yet come to dominate the list.

The Growth Index is compiled through independent analysis of Companies House data. Growth is measured by two-year compound annual growth rate in revenues, with companies required to have a minimum base-year turnover of £100,000 and a minimum final-year turnover of £5 million.

More than 9,000 people in Wales are waiting for specialist psychological therapies, with almost half waiting longer than six months

MORE than 9,000 people with moderate to severe mental health conditions are waiting to access specialist psychological therapies in Wales, according to new figures obtained by Mind Cymru.

The charity says the number of people waiting for treatment is now at its highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Freedom of Information data gathered from all seven local health boards shows that, as of December 2025, almost half of those waiting, around 47%, had been on the list for longer than 26 weeks.

Mind Cymru said more than 4,300 people had been waiting more than six and a half months for specialist psychological therapies by December 2025.

That figure has almost doubled since March 2024, when 2,305 people were waiting more than 26 weeks.

The charity is now calling on the Welsh Government to make mental health a priority during the next Senedd term, with a focus on reducing waiting times and improving early access to support.

Aled Edwards, from Bangor, said he was told he faced a two-year wait to see a psychologist as an outpatient at a mental health hospital near his home, despite experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts.

The father-of-two was instead placed on a list to see a psychiatrist in the hope he could access support more quickly, but said it still took another 18 months before he finally received the help he needed.

Aled, who was later diagnosed with a male form of post-natal depression, said: “This was at a point in my life where I had already tried to take my own life and I was considering trying again, so this time I went to ask for help instead.

“I was experiencing some really dark thoughts and I was desperate for support.

“When I did get to see a psychiatrist, they left their job after three sessions and I went back into the system to wait for a further six months before starting trauma therapy with another doctor.

“Finding the skills to cope with the kind of intrusive thoughts I was having in the meantime was really hard, and I feel fortunate that I had the means to access private counselling support to keep me going during that period, where so many others might not.”

Mind Cymru has requested the same waiting list data from local health boards three times since 2020, as part of its campaign for improved access to specialist psychological therapies in Wales.

Its original Too Long To Wait report called for more investment in specialist psychological therapies, stronger governance around how local health boards collect and submit waiting time data, and for the figures to be made publicly available.

The charity says those recommendations remain relevant, but that urgent action is now also needed to transform the mental health system so people can access support earlier.

Simon Jones, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Mind Cymru, said the findings showed that mental health must be a central priority for the Welsh Government.

He said: “There’s clearly a very real and growing need for increasing numbers of people to receive specialist psychological support for their mental health in Wales.

“These are people living with moderate, severe and enduring mental health conditions, and those most in need of support.

“That so many are waiting too long to access therapies is placing further demand on a system already under pressure, and there’s a need for significant investment to be made at all levels to help people access the support they need, when they need it.

“With plans already in place to transform Wales’ mental health system and help deliver open access care, we need now to ensure these plans are prioritised and invested in so that we can start to see that positive impact as soon as possible.

“No one should be waiting longer than six months for support with a serious mental health issue. With this in mind, Mind Cymru is calling on the new Welsh Government to make mental health a priority across the next Senedd term.”

Specialist psychological therapies are structured, evidence-based treatments delivered by trained clinicians for specific mental health conditions or complex psychological needs.

They include therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, Cognitive Analytic Therapy and Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy.