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Haverfordwest: Rugby Club saddened fireworks company ‘failed to turn up’

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Canceled: Haverfordwest RFC display

Fireworks company failed to turn up: Haverfordwest RFC display

HAVERFORDWEST residents were left disappointed last night when an advertised fireworks display did not take place.

The Bonfire Night display, organised by Haverfordwest RFC, was cancelled after the company employed to organise the display failed to turn up.

Alun Wills, Chairman of the club told The Herald: “Our annual fireworks display is an extremely popular fixture on our events calendar and up until 6.30pm last night we were still in contact with Westcoast Fireworks, but since then we have had no communication from them and no explanation.”

Mr Wills added: “We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and we ask that you pass this message on to any family and friends who attended the club.”

Disappointed customers took to social media to express their disappointment.

Catherine Davies said on Facebook last night: “Absolutely gutted for Haverfordwest RFC who were let down by Westcoast Fireworks tonight with no explanation. They had dropped off equipment last night ready.

“Not only did they not turn up but refused to answer the phone so the club were left in limbo what to tell people. I hope they realise how much preparation from volunteers go into organising an event like this and how many people they have let down.

She added: “Well done Haverfordwest RFC for refunding everyone and apologising but Westcoast it doesn’t make up for all the disappointed children.”

Haverfordwest resident Gemma Dando, who is eight months pregnant, said: “What a crappy day. No fireworks after breaking my back. I stood for an hour and a half. I’m look forward to getting into bed.”

On Facebook Nick Chilton who was working for West Coast Fireworks on the Milford Haven display last night said: “The firer didn’t turn up, West Coast [were] absolutely at capacity for firing displays. We need more trained [staff].”

On Saturday (Nov 7) Matthew sand Lindsey Spencer of West Coast Fireworks released a statement:

They said: “We would like to apologise to everyone who attended the Haverfordwest RFC event on the 5th of November. We wish to extend our apologies to all the children, adults and organisers who went out of their way to attend a once a year event and were let down and left extremely upset and disappointed. There were circumstances beyond our control that unfortunately left us unable to attend.

“We also offer our most sincere apologies to the organisers also for not communicating with them better.

“Our teams are all allocated their displays and each team have their display, equipment & tools prepped and organised ahead of the display and are allocated a vehicle.

“On Wednesday evening we loaded the equipment and tools into a vehicle and transported it to the HRFC site, ready for the next day. This was done to save time during an already busy day. On the morning of November 5 each team collected their vans and equipment as arranged and left at a time suitable to arrive at their designated site. The time arriving on site is dependent on how long it takes to set up and rig the display.

“The team for Whitland and Milford Haven left first thing in the morning as they are our largest displays and take the longest time to erect.

“The HRFC display vehicle was scheduled to leave at 4.30pm and would have been the last one to leave as the equipment had already been dropped off the night before to save time on site on the day.

“Unfortunately due to a catastrophic communication error the HRFC display team failed to collect their vehicle. During the on site build process, all of our phones, lighters or anything that can cause a spark are left in our vehicles for safety. When, by chance, a phone was heard ringing – we were told that the HRFC team had not arrived on site as scheduled. This was around 6.30pm.

“We tried contacting the HRFC Display Team to no avail. We found ourselves in an awkward situation.
Do we: Take crew off other displays, making those displays run late or not happen at all?
Or do we hope the team turns up in time?

“If we had pulled resources from other displays, (Milford Haven/Whitland/Hook/Newcastle Emlyn) then each of those displays would have failed to be ready on time & disappointing more people in the process.

“The HRFC display should have taken 2 hours to build on site and by the time other crew could have got to the site with the products, it would have been at least 7.30pm and the display would not have been ready until 9.30pm at the earliest.

“A decision was made for our crews to stay at their designated sites and to go back to rigging their displays as planned for health and safety reasons, plus they would not have been ready on time, letting down all our other clients too.

“It was not a decision that was made lightly as we never wish to disappoint anyone, let alone all the children who were attending, but it was a choice that had to be made at the time.

“Our biggest failure during the situation, was not communicating our decision to the organisers of the HRFC display as all our crews had gone back to building their displays.

“We strive to provide our clients with the best display possible for the budget that has been allocated to us and our track record is second to none.

“Having been in business many years, it is not a situation we have ever encountered before and never wish to repeat in the future.

“We cannot apologise enough to everyone who attended.

The statement concluded: “HRFC have been loyal clients for many years and we are devastated that we have also let them down.”

 

 

 

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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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Business

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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