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The long-term challenge facing Newgale

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PM visit: David Cameron visited Newgale last year

PM visit: David Cameron visited Newgale last year

DURING the severe storms early last year, the A487 at Newgale was closed for several days when shingle was washed onto the road.

A recent report commissioned by Pembrokeshire County Council concluded that the shingle bank will become increasing unstable and vulnerable to failure, with a timescale of 10-20 years over which the current situation may become unsustainable.

The Council therefore instigated a public meeting to discuss the future of the shingle bank at Newgale, which was held at Solva Memorial Hall on February 18. This discussed the stability of the shingle bank and the consequences of any future failure and feedback was welcomed from the public.

A substantial amount of feedback has already been received, and the Council intends to summarise this and provide a public report on this reaction to date.

Head of Highways & Construction at the Council commented: “We have received a huge amount of constructive feedback in response to this initial invite for opinions as to the way forward at Newgale, and thank the public for their widespread and informative comments”.

“The feedback includes comment on the importance of tourism as a key industry in Pembrokeshire and that the road through Newgale is an important link to the St David’s Peninsular, providing one of the iconic viewpoints of the Pembrokeshire coastline”.

“As a response to a number of concerns, it is stressed the Council is not abandoning Newgale. The current shoreline policy identified for Newgale is one of Managed Realignment. This means that Pembrokeshire County Council and Natural Resources Wales, as the risk management authorities for coastal flood and erosion, will implement a managed way forward to minimise, as far as is possible, the impacts of change on the locality.”.

In order to manage any change, the Council will need to appraise all the possible options from retention of the status quo, to the provision of a new road. Funding will also need to be secured, all the requisite statutory consents obtained, and eventually any scheme procured and constructed.

The Cabinet Spokesperson for Environmental and Regulatory Services and the Welsh Language, Cllr Huw George, noted: “Ongoing consultation will be a vital and important strand running through all this work”.

The Council have also had preliminary discussion with National Resources Wales and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

Coastal flooding or fluvial flooding from a main river such as the Brandy Brook is the responsibility of Natural Resources Wales and so any scheme that affects the Brook will need to be undertaken in partnership with them. Mr. Phillip Pickersgill, the Acting Head of Operations South west Wales, commented:-

newgale“The storms last year highlighted the risks to our coastline and the communities that live there. Indications are that climate change will increase these risks and we need to understand and manage them appropriately. We welcome the opportunity to work with Pembrokeshire County Council in helping communities and the environment adapt to this risk.”

Mr. Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, commented on the actions being taken: “The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority welcomes the proactive lead being taken by Pembrokeshire County Council and Natural Resources Wales to properly consider and address the changing coastline at Newgale”.

“All relevant organisations need to work with local communities to ensure a long-term sustainable solution that takes account of the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Newgale and the St David’s Peninsula.”

Stephen Crabb MP said: “There is clearly a long-term challenge facing Newgale and the St Davids Peninsula, and there will be some major engineering challenges whatever option is chosen. However, with all the relevant agencies working together there should be no need for knee-jerk responses. We have time to come up with a solution which protects businesses and communities in Newgale and the Peninsula.”

“It was a postive step forward to bring together the Council, Natural Resources Wales and the National Park on Friday to discuss what will happen next. I emphasised the need to involve the local community at every step of the process, to ensure that a solution is reached that protects the village and allows business and tourism to thrive in North Pembrokeshire. It’s also vital that the spectacular view of Newgale beach is protected.”

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Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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News

Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

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NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

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