News
Haverfordwest: Council halts schools consultation
AMID a swirl of rumour and counter-rumour, The Herald is able to confirm that the future of secondary education in Haverfordwest remains in doubt.
The Herald received a tip off on Wednesday (Nov 18) that Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) was considering its position in respect of continuing the consultation.
On checking with others and a reliable source at County Hall, we asked PCC to confirm what was happening.
Just before our deadline, we received a response from County Hall.
The statement was brief and to the point: ‘Pembrokeshire County Council can confirm that the Director for Children and Schools, Kate Evan-Hughes, will recommend to a meeting of Extraordinary Council next Thursday (Nov 26) that the current consultation on a review of secondary education in Haverfordwest is to be discontinued’.
The Herald is aware that the solicitor acting for the trustees of the Tasker-Milward & Picton Charity has lately been in correspondence with PCC and it’s solicitors, Messrs Geldards of Cardiff. Stephen Hill, of Price and Son Haverfordwest, has pointed out flaws in the way PCC has conducted itself both in the original consultation and during its attempt to rectify the errors made in that process by launching a second consultation.
The Herald also understands that key consultation documents were not circulated to either St Mark’s School or Tasker-Milward School as required by the Welsh Government.
The turn of events is a major embarrassment to PCC and its Head of Education, both of whom have spent considerable time and money pursuing the PCC’s objectives.
In March Jamie Adams told County Councillors that any delay in progressing the schools consultation would be fatal to the PCC’s plans. There have now been two resets of the process thanks to PCC blunders in handling it.
The Director for Children and Schools is to recommend to a meeting of Extraordinary Council next Thursday (Nov 26) that the current consultation on a review of secondary education in Haverfordwest is discontinued.
Kate Evan-Hughes will put forward slightly modified proposals to Councillors and recommend that they approve the launch of a new consultation on those proposals.
She will also inform Councillors that the procedure followed in relation to the statutory consultation is considered to be challengeable, and that it is advisable to discontinue statutory consultation and recommence formal consultation with the Trustees of the Tasker Milward and Picton Charity prior to commencing a new consultation.
If the Director’s recommendation is approved by Councillors, this will be the third statutory consultation on secondary education in Haverfordwest.
“We are very aware that this is the third time we are seeking to consult on education in Haverfordwest, but we are determined to get this process absolutely right for the sake of our children’s education,” said Kate.
“As ever, we are very grateful for the public’s input to the process and ask them to persevere with us as we endeavour to get the very best outcome for our schools.”
As a result of the new recommendations to be put to members, the public meetings due to take place in Haverfordwest on the current consultation have been cancelled.
The meetings were due to take place on November 23 and 30 at the Archives. All those who have reserved places are being contacted.
Charity
Over 1,100 festive bathers enjoy Tenby’s famous Boxing Day Swim
A RECORD-BREAKING number of 1,150 festive bathers have had a splashing time in the Tenby Boxing Day Swim this morning.
The fancy dress theme of Superheroes – in tribute to the RNLI in its 200th anniversary year – saw Batman, The Incredibles, Wonderwoman and a whole crew of emergency services dashing into the chilly water of Tenby’s North Beach.
RNLI mascot Stormy Stan was there amongst the huge crowds to cheer the brave bathers on their way.
The swim will be one to remember forever for one duo of dippers as they got engaged following a surprise proposal on the sand.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Philip Frith, 34, made one of his best-ever moves when he popped the question to his girlfriend, former professional dancer Victoria Tansey, 34, who is originally from Hakin.
Said swim chairman Sam Skyrme-Blackhall: “”Well, we said ‘come to the Tenby Boxing Day Swim and take the plunge’ but we weren’t expecting that! Congratulations to the happy couple”.
The swim has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities and good causes in its 52-year history, and this yeae’s event will see Tenby RNLI as the main beneficiary.
Town mayor Dai Morgan said: ”It’s great to see so many people from here, and for such a good cause. I just love it down on the beach on Boxing Day. The swim is such a fantastic tradition.”
The mayor’s daughter, 18-year-old Erin Morgan, who is Tenby’s town crier, gave a special ‘cry’ to welcome the swim.
Swim chairman Sam supervised 10-year-old Sam Fecci as he fired the swim’s starting pistol – a duty usually carried out by his dad, Stuart, who was not well enough to attend.
Festive tunes and a lively commentary from DJ Steve Briers ramped up the atmosphere on the beach and swimmers emerged from the sea to be presented with commemorative medals and warm up with hot soup donated by the Giltar Hotel and served up by Tenby and District Lions.
‘Taking the plunge’ at a festive swim in Wales this morning meant more than just a dip in the sea for one happy couple.
As hundreds of Boxing Day bathers at the legendary event in Tenby dashed for the water, a magical moment was happening between Victoria Tansey and Philip Frith.
Philip, 34, went down on one knee on the sand and asked Victoria, 37, to marry him.
Fortunately, she said an ecstatic ‘yes’ to the carefully-planned proposal, which saw the couple’s special song Ocean Eyes y Billie Eilish sound out over the beach as the newly-engaged couple celebrated with a splash in the sea.
As a former Royal Marine Philip – who is now a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach – has faced some scary situations in his life but the Boxing Day proposal was up there with the most nail-biting.
“I’ve been so nervous/special moment.
Victoria, originally from Hakin, Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, worked as a professional dancer – appearing on the X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Pineapple Dance Studio: Survival of the Fittest -and before setting up her own entertainment agency.
Although now living in Guildford with Philip, she has always loved returning to her Pembrokeshire roots
“When we first met, Victoria couldn’t wait to show me all around Pembrokeshire and we have made the trip as often as work would allow us, to visit her family, go beach hopping and take in the breathtaking scenery,” said Philip.
“I absolutely love sea swimming, I believe that it is so worthwhile for your body and mind, however Victoria has never been one to enjoy the cold!
“So, on our first Christmas together as a couple, Victoria surprised me by taking me to Tenby for the Boxing Day Swim – it’s honestly one of my most fond memories from the start of our relationship!
“I wanted to return her the favour of surprising her by proposing to her at this year’s swim.”
Victoria’s mum and her childhood best friend , Sean Griffiths – who she set up Milford Haven’s Unison Dance Group with in 2004 –were on the beach to watch the proposal, with Sean bringing along the engagement ring in his pocket to fellow swimmers crowded round to congratulate Victoria and Philip, and swim chairman Sam Skyrme-Blackhall laughed: “Well, we said ‘come to the Tenby Boxing Day Swim and take the plunge’ but we weren’t expecting that! Congratulations to the happy couple”.
Charity
Letterston dog show raises over £750 for local charities
ON SUNDAY (Dec 22), Letterston Ring Craft successfully raised £755.55 for two Pembrokeshire-based charities during a fun dog show event. The funds were equally split between South Pembrokeshire Cat Rescue and Letterston Memorial Hall.
The event featured a variety of well-attended classes, including child handling and fancy dress, drawing participation from dog enthusiasts of all levels.
This fundraiser marked the first charitable event supporting South Pembrokeshire Cat Rescue. Founded and managed by Lizzy Austwick, the rescue organisation aids unwanted, feral, and sick cats across Pembrokeshire and responds to urgent cases in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. The rescue provides neutering support for stray and feral cats, directs owners to available resources, and specialises in helping stray cats with severe injuries, raising essential funds for their care.
For assistance, Lizzy can be contacted via the rescue’s Facebook page or at 07575 131443.
Letterston Ring Craft welcomes new members interested in training and showing their dogs, from local companion shows to prestigious events like Crufts. The club meets every other Sunday in Letterston, and further details can be found on their Facebook page.
Looking ahead, the next fun dog show is scheduled for early next year and will support Belle’s Story Charity. For more information or to get involved, contact Gentle Lowe at 07956 653401.
Charity
£3,800 donated to services across Withybush Hospital
THE CAMROSE VINTAGE WORKING DAY team has donated £3,800 to services across Withybush Hospital.
Their 37th annual event raised a record breaking £25,000, which has now been distributed among 26 local charities.
They donated the funds to the Stroke Ward, Specialist Respiratory Team, Chemo Day Unit and Heads Up! Hair Loss Initiative at Withybush Hospital. Each service received £950.
The Heads Up! initiative provides a person-centred, holistic hair loss service for cancer patients. It brings together healthcare and haircare professionals from local communities to give patients the knowledge and products needed to manage their hair loss with dignity and choice.
Katie Hancock, Fundraising Officer, said: “Thank you to Andrew, the team and the supporters of the Camrose Vintage Working Day for your generosity once again. Your donation to each service is amazing and will make a big difference. We are hugely grateful for your wonderful support.
“The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are extremely grateful for every donation we receive.”
Pictured above: Andrew James, Chairman of Camrose Vintage Working Day with Withybush Hospital staff from the Stroke Ward, Specialist Respiratory Team, Chemo Day Unit, Heads Up! Hair Loss initiative.
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Keith mcniffe
November 19, 2015 at 5:41 pm
How much tax payers money has this cost everyone in Pembrokeshire
Charlie Mapp
November 19, 2015 at 7:38 pm
Too be busy discussing how much they can get away with paying themselves to have any time left to actually do anything correctly?
Charlie Mapp
November 19, 2015 at 7:40 pm
I think we’ve “persevered” with this shambolic bunch for long enough
Tomos
November 20, 2015 at 3:14 pm
they really are a bunch of incompetent time wasters
They often talk about salary comparisons with industry (the real world)
In the real world they’d have been kicked out on their a****s years ago