News

Badger looks for a shovel

Published

9 years ago

March 4, 2015

badger shovel MANURE. Badger has been thinking quite a lot about manure in the days since last week’s Council meeting. Seldom, if ever, has so much been spread by so few for the benefit of even fewer – or for the benefit of one. Where Badger lives, one often sees tankers ferrying waste hither thither and yon and, at the right time of year, smells rich and foul-smelling ordure spread on the fields. Of course, the thing with dung is that in the right circumstances it promotes growth. It enriches the soil and enables it to be utilised to grown the kind of things important to humans: broccoli, mangel wurzles, and bureaucrats (although, left to their own devices, some bureaucrats will propagate solely from waste products). At County Hall last week, the only thing that manure was being used for was to obscure the truth. In much the same way as a startled squid will escape in a cloud of ink, a succession of statements were made by IPPG Councillors that ejected large quantities of nature’s own fertiliser over the proceedings. No doubt the IPPG collectively hoped either that people would be too appalled to dig through their efforts or that the ceiling-high and reeking mound of filth would deter their pursuers. Badger was particularly exercised by those concerned in education and safeguarding. Councillor Daphne Bush is a newcomer to Badger, although he has been aware of her peculiar brand of deranged loyalism for some time. Badger was particularly entranced by her eager toadying. Anyone would think she was repaying a favour. How wonderfully the wise leadership had managed to pass the
last Estyn inspection. Forget why we were in special measures.

It was all a long time ago. Let’s just rejoice, rejoice! Well, even a turd gleams if one rolls it in sequins. Cllr Sue Perkins, the spectacularly graceless Labour turncoat, extolled the virtues of a school of which she is governor. A governor of a school which ignored the wishes of parents. A governor of a school which “needs to improve outcomes for learners”. A governor who thinks, as well she might, that big is better. However, a large amount of ignorant bilge delivered from Cabinet member is still a large amount of ignorant bilge. Sue’s desperate groping for facts to justify the Council’s lying stance on Hakin and Hubberston schools suggested that she had lost her way in the thicket of barbs and petty sniping she confuses for logic. Ignoring your constituents’ views is one thing, there is scarcely a member of the IPPO who doesn’t do that every time they rock up to vote as Bryn tells Jamie to tell them to vote. But ignoring your constituents and telling them that everything is roses in the garden when they can see fresh guano all about them is quite another. In June 2017, when she will most likely be an ex-councillor, Sue might want to ponder if there was any point in her political journey that ensured she occupied the seat next to her bestest buddy Ken “the voice of Ken” Rowlands on has-been row. Sue’s defiant proclamation to the masses that an independent investigation was not required into the way the Council handled the Mik Smith affair is almost certainly a staging post on her way out of County Hall.

From the !PPG benches, and while her colleagues sat abouther nodding rather like they were auditioning as stunt doubles for a car insurance commercial, Sue said it had all been looked at, lessons had been learned and she was sure that everything was now okay. We have heard that sort of language before from the IPPO seats on the Council. Remember Johnny Mirehouse? Who could forget the sound of the Angle Foghorn in December, as he boomed and rumbled in his lordly way about the grants scandal in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock: “Nothing to see here”? All been checked by them accountancy-wallahs. They know what they’re talking about those officer chappies. Sound, all of them. One of ’em read me a report that said everything was ‘rickety-boo’, as you crazy mixed up kids say nowadays.” Now then, readers: what happened next? Whoops. Sue’s words were echoed and added to by Jamie Adams. Now what Jamie said bears some close consideration.

Pointedly declining to apologise to Sue Thomas, who blew the whistle on Mik Smith in 2004, he repeated practically verbatim the letter that Bryn Parry Jones sent to her in November 2005. Talk about His Master’s Voice, readers. Using his knowing and regretful voice (#2 out of a very limited edition of 4) Jamie decided to attack the questioner rather than answer the question. Lying that Paul Miller had not spoken to the Director of Education about the Smith case, Jamie then went on to say: “I too have seen that correspondence (letter from Sue Thomas to Bryn Parry Jones) and I remain still or the opinion that the
whistleblowing of Mrs Thomas was separate from her correspondence to him. Further misunderstanding has occurred in relation to that correspondence. It does not refer to his Mik Smith’s behaviour, the CEO thought the letter intimated a breakdown in the relationship between herself and her line manager.” The email to Bryn Parry Jones says: “It has been intimated that there is some kind of professional vendetta being pursued against the above person. If this were true, why an there at least eight professional youth workers that I am aware of, with serious concerns regarding the work practices of (Mik Smith)?” Straight off the bat, there goes the thrust of Jamie’s point. But there is more, readers. And worse.

The email had already referenced — at more than one point — Mik Smith’s inappropriate conduct towards children. It also pointed out — with some force — that Pembrokeshire County Council’s views on “appropriate behaviour with children” was “widely divergent” from accepted or acceptable models followed by the Police, national bodies and other county councils. Now: Jamie. Let’s assume there is something between your ears. It’s a leap in the dark, but let’s just take that chance. Serious concerns about work practices inappropriate behaviour w i t h children, eight youthworkers with concerns. What does that sound like to you, Jamie? Does it sound like “your perceived problem seems, however, to relate to your personal circumstances and relationships with others”? That’s what Bryn said in 2005. Sounds like what you said on July 17 , 2014 Jamie. Dees not sound much like what was written, though: anything but. In the law of conspiracy, you can be guilty of wilfully turning a blind eye to the obvious. Moral culpability for what happened rests fairly and squarely with Bryn and with people like Sue and Jamie who continue to defend him. An unequivocal apology and a public enquiry is a bare minimum. In the meantime, Badger will just keep digging.

Community

County Hall to offer space for community banking

Published

11 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to potentially change its banking arrangement with Barclays, after it closed its Haverfordwest branch has been turned down, but County Hall is to offer space for community banking.

Barclays Bank, on the town’s High Street, is to close on May 10.

The council has had a banking services contract with Barclays since 2013.

Councillor Huw Murphy, in a notice of motion heard by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting of April 22, asked the council to review its banking arrangements with Barclays following the announced closure.

e said the loss of a branch “not only impacts upon town centres and businesses but also disproportionately impacts the elderly who are less likely to embrace on-line banking options”.

A report for Cabinet members said, in terms of the impact on Pembrokeshire residents, Barclays has said that it is “not leaving Haverfordwest and [will] continue to provide face-to-face support for those who need it” via community locations.

Two options were presented to Cabinet: to retender the banking services contract, and, the favoured, to work with Barclays to ensure a community location is set up in Haverfordwest.

Members heard the costs associated with moving to a new banking service provider could be in excess of £50,000.

For the second, favoured option, members heard Barclays was in discussions with the council about a location for potential community banking.

Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Cllr Alec Cormack, after outlining the risks in the report for members, and moving the notice be not adopted, said he had “considerable sympathy” with Cllr Murphy’s notice.

He told councillors there was a glimmer of light for banking arrangements in the county, with an agreement now signed for two ground floor rooms at County Hall, Haverfordwest, to be used for community banking.

From April 25, the rooms will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, members heard.

Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery Cllr Jon Harvey also said he had “a lot of sympathy” for the motion, adding: “It’s excellent news a deal has been struck to occupy the ground floor rooms three days a week; hopefully this will mitigate, to a certain amount, the closure.

“If we can work with the respective banks to get a community-type approach let’s move forward.”

News

Haverfordwest interchange: Next stage of £19m project backed

Published

12 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

The second stage of building Haverfordwest’s near-£19m transport interchange has been backed, with senior councillors hearing it could cost the council more to not support it.

The transport interchange, which includes an integrated bus station and construction of a new multi-storey car park, is part of a wider series of regeneration projects in the county town.

The total cost of the scheme in the approved budget is £18.881m, £1.987m from Pembrokeshire County Council; the remainder, £16.894m, from an already-awarded Welsh Government grant.

To date, £3.425m has been spent on advanced works, including the demolition of the old multi-storey car park and a temporary bus station.

Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on April 22, were recommended to approve the award of the Stage 2 construction contract for the Haverfordwest Transport Interchange.

The report for members listed two simple options for Cabinet, to authorise the award of a contract, recommended, or to not.

For the latter it warned: “It is envisaged Welsh Government will withdraw the funding awarded and the council would need to repay grants received to date; £10.322m has been received to date of which £3.376m has been offset against expenditure.”

It added: “Cost to cease this project could cost PCC more in terms of grant repayment and any capital work required to make good. PCC match contribution for the project is forecast as £1.987m of the £18.881m.”

Planning permission for the interchange was granted in 2022, with a temporary bus station constructed that year and the old multi-storey building demolished in 2023.

That year, members of the county council’s Cabinet agreed a temporary car park will be sited on the demolished remains of the old multi-storey car park until the Haverfordwest Public Transport Interchange – delayed as no compliant tender had been found at the time – is built.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller said: “The interchange is an important part of the regeneration of Haverfordwest, it will not regenerate Haverfordwest on its own, it is part of a wider process. The alternative to us being engaged is we simply allow it to decline and fail.”

He said the interchange was about “making it easier to visit Haverfordwest,” making parking provision “really straightforward, making it easy and convenient as possible”.

Cllr Miller said not progressing with the scheme would risk the grants already obtained, meaning the council could potentially foot the bill for costs to date, at a greater level than progressing.

He said the cost options were a near-£2m subsidised council involvement for the whole scheme or the £3m-plus spent to date if the scheme was ended, which would leave the car park as it is now.

“It’s pretty reasonable that if they give us the money and we don’t build a transport interchange they’ll be looking for that money back,” Cllr Miller said.

He said previous figures from parking revenue – back in 2019 – amounted to £100,000 a year; and could be expected to at least double on a “like-for-like” basis following the increase in parking charges.

Members, after a private and confidential session over the actual contract details, agreed to proceed with the scheme, awarding the contract to Kier Construction Western and Wales.

Charity

RNLI prepare for summer with medical training exercise in Pembrokeshire

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RNLI lifeguards from the north Pembrokeshire team, volunteers from St Davids RNLI and St Davids Coastguard Rescue Team came together at Whitesands beach on Thursday (18 April), for a multi-agency medical training exercise. Pembrokeshire RNLI lifeguards and St Davids volunteer lifeboat crew took part in a multi-agency medical training exercise alongside St Davids Coastguard Rescue Team in preparation for the upcoming summer season.

The Coastal Medicine programme was set up six years ago at the suggestion of clinicians from Hywel Dda University Health Board. The aim of the programme is train lifeguards, lifeboat crews and HM Coastguard teams in working collaboratively when responding to medical incidents on the coast.

Clinicians from Hywel Dda work with RNLI staff to design exercises simulating mass-casualty incidents on land and afloat. The exercises allow lifeguards, lifeboat crews and Coastguard teams to practise and test their rescue response and casualty care.

The simulated incident at Whitesands involved a medical incident at sea leading to a boat going out of control and ploughing through a group of swimmers causing multiple injuries. RNLI lifeguards responded to casualties on the beach while St Davids inshore and all-weather lifeboat crews dealt with the situation at sea. St Davids Coastguard Rescue supported RNLI colleagues as they would in a real-life scenario.

In total there were six casualties to treat, all of whom were given the immediate medical care by the teams on scene. As in a real-life scenario, they were then prepared to be handed over to the care of the Ambulance Service.

Roger Smith, RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager said: ‘The scenario was based on a real-life incident, it’s so important that we train in dealing with challenging situations.

‘The RNLI lifeguards, lifeboat crew, and the Coastguard rescue team worked really well together collaborating together to achieve the best possible result.

‘The feedback from all the participants was really positive, and our medical colleagues were very complimentary about the competence shown and the inter-agency co-operation.

‘This scenario training gives confidence to our lifeguards and lifeboat crews, and ensures the teamwork and communication is already in place ready for real-life incidents.’

Martin Charlton, an RNLI lifeguard in north Pembrokeshire said:

‘Last night’s exercise was a great opportunity for me and my colleagues on the lifeguard team to upskill ahead of the summer season.

‘We regularly attend incidents in the season that require a multi-agency response. These scenarios are a brilliant opportunity to prepare for the the most challenging situations.

‘The team and I thoroughly enjoyed the exercise and feel better prepared for the season as a result.

‘It’s always a pleasure working alongside the Coastguard rescue team and the lifeboat as one crew.’