Politics

Cameron ‘has failed to make case’ for air strikes

Published

9 years ago

December 14, 2015

Stephen Crabb: ‘ Clearly we have to take action ‘

PLAID CYMRU leader Leanne Wood has said that the Prime Minister has failed to make the case for UK air strikes in Syria and that many unanswered questions remain.
Ms Wood said: “Plaid Cymru has said that it would listen to the Prime Minister’s case for UK intervention against IS.
“From the outset, Plaid Cymru has insisted that UK military intervention could only be considered in the context of an internationally-agreed peace plan for Syria, one that includes winning the peace as much as the military defeat of IS.
“Plaid Cymru has also insisted that a framework backed fully by the UN is essential, including a Chapter VII resolution. The Prime Minister has failed to deliver this.
“We are also dubious of the Prime Minister’s claim that there are 70,000 moderate Syrian fighters on the ground ready to fight IS – a doubt shared by the Chairman of the House of Commons Defence Committee, amongst many others.
“Dropping bombs from the air will not lead to the defeat of IS. Neither will it the secure peace for the people of Syria or bring stability to the wider region. What is needed is a plan for a process of reconciliation and reconstruction.
“The Party of Wales urges all governments to redouble efforts to secure a comprehensive peace deal for Syria and the wider region. We urge world leaders not to repeat the mistakes of past Western military interventions in the Middle East.
“We call for renewed commitments to support and aid civilians who are suffering as a result of the war, call for pressure to bear on Saudi Arabia and others who are financing IS and we call for practical support for those currently d e f e n d i n g themselves on the ground from IS such as the Kurdish P e s h m e r g a fighters, which must also include a commitment from Turkey to cease attacks upon the Kurds.
“UK military action as currently proposed risks further escalation in Syria and making our own communities at home less secure.
“Unless the Prime Minister addresses all unanswered questions and brings forward a more comprehensive plan, Plaid Cymru cannot support military action.”
On Monday the leader of the opposition in Westminster said that he would allow Labour MPs a free vote on extending British air strikes into Syria. Jeremy Corbyn is opposed to the bombing, and in a letter to Labour MPs said that he felt that Mr Cameron had not explained how the bombings would help Britain’s security.
However, the Shadow front bench team is divided on the matter, with shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and Tom Watson among those favouring military intervention. Llanelli MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Nia Griffith has said that she is opposed to UK involvement in air strikes, citing the lack of an effective strategy from Mr Cameron as a major factor in this. Ms Griffith said:
“Last week in Parliament I listened very carefully to the Prime Minister making the case for the UK’s involvement in air-strikes on Syria. He spoke eloquently, but it was clear that he did not have an effective strategy for following up the air strikes and bringing the stability that that country so desperately needs. That’s why I spoke up very clearly in Shadow Cabinet against UK involvement in air strikes.
“It is understandable that in the wake of appalling atrocities in Paris, that we should want to do something urgently to combat Daesh / Isis and show solidarity with our allies, but we should beware of simply bombing places like Raqqa in Syria as a knee-jerk reaction, which, as fleeing Syrians have pointed out, would inevitably lead to civilian casualties.
“We all abhor Daesh with their barbaric acts, and their murdering of innocent p e o p l e including m a n y Muslims, b u t military experts h a v e warned that air strikes alone are not sufficient to drive Daesh out of the territory it holds. Far more needs to be done to cut off their supplies of oil and weapons, and to prevent more young people being drawn into their hateful propaganda and radicalisation.
“But in terms of re-taking the parts of Syria they control, we need to have a strategy which includes how and by whom the peace can be secured. The Prime Minister talked vaguely about some 70,000 rebel forces, but they are scattered geographically, and composed of many disparate groups. The Prime Minister could not give us details about their commitment or capacity for taking and holding territory.
“However, we now have signs of a greater determination in the United Nations to tackle the region’s problems, and Russia has shown a willingness to be involved. So where the UK should take a lead would be in furthering the Vienna process, getting commitment from the regional powers and developing a political strategy for the area. That now needs to be the priority. I am not a pacifist, but I shall not be voting for air strikes on Syria.
Ms Griffith’s opposite number, Stephen Crabb, has announced that he is in favour of extending British operations. In an interview shortly after the tragic events in Paris, the Preseli Pembrokeshire MP said: “Clearly the events of recent days have focused people’s minds. I personally don’t know what it is going to take to persuade people further, whether it’s the images of carnage and death we saw on the streets of Paris on Friday night or whether it’s the images of mass graves that have been discovered in Syria or the evidence of rape being used as a weapon of war in Syria, but clearly we have to take action to eradicate the world of this horrific poisonous threat which threatens our lives within this country, this so-called Isil.”
When asked whether ground forces would be required, the Conservative MP reiterated what Mr Cameron said regarding the capabilities of existing forces: “We believe there are troops on the ground to do the job, the Kurdish forces and others who have shown in just recent days how capable they are at defeating Isil on the ground, but the diplomatic strategy is an important one as well.”
Jeremy Corbyn has written to Mr Cameron, urging the Prime Minister to hold a full two-day debate on the subject of military involvement before any vote. It is thought that the Government will not call for a vote unless they are confident of securing a clear majority.

News

Community asked for views on allocation of new St Davids homes

Published

19 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST phase of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Glasfryn housing development in St Davids is progressing well with the second phase also underway.

The development being built by GRD Homes Ltd, began in November 2023, with a first phase completion date of Winter 2024 looking hopeful, ahead of the scheduled plans.

The first phase consists of seven properties, including a mixture of one and two bedroom bungalows

As completion draws closer the properties will be advertised via Pembrokeshire Choice Homes.

Ahead of this, the Council’s housing team will be holding community engagement on the 13th August 2024 at the Ty’r Pererin Centres, Quickwell Hill, St Davids, SA62 6PD, 5pm-7pm.

This will be a chance for officers to liaise with the local community about the allocation process for these properties.

Glasfryn’s second phase is well underway, with the initial groundwork already completed. This phase includes a further 11 two bedroom bungalows, with a completion date in late 2025.

These bungalows will meet the latest Welsh Government’s Development Quality Requirement, and will be energy efficient, built to EPC A specification and include solar panels to help tenants with running costs.

The Glasfryn development is funded in partnership with Welsh Government.

Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Michelle Bateman said: “We are really keen to work with the community on a local lettings policy for these new properties, as we have done for our developments in other parts of the County.”

If you have any queries please email the Customer Liaison Team on [email protected], phone them on 01437 764551, or visit Housing’s Facebook page.

Business

Legal call to stop £6m expansion of holiday park still ongoing

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A LEGAL request to overturn a Pembrokeshire County Council-granted approval for a £6m expansion of a south Pembrokeshire holiday park is still ongoing despite a previous announcement it had been turned down, county planners heard.

Back in February, Pembrokeshire planners were informed a legal challenge to a November 2023-granted application for works at Heritage Park, Pleasant Valley/Stepaside had been launched.

The holiday park scheme had previously been backed twice by county planners after a ‘minded to approve’ cooling-off period was invoked as it was against repeated officer recommendations to refuse.

The controversial scheme by Heritage Leisure Development (Wales) Ltd includes the installation of 48 bases for holiday lodges, a spa facility at a former pub, holiday apartments, a café and cycle hire, equestrian stables, a manège and associated office, and associated works.

It is said the scheme, next to the historic remains of the 19th century Stepaside ironworks and colliery, will create 44 jobs.

Officer grounds for refusal, based on the Local Development Plan, included the site being outside a settlement area.

Along with 245 objections to the current scheme, Stepaside & Pleasant Valley Residents’ Group (SPVRG Ltd) – formed to object to an earlier 2019 application which was later withdrawn – also raised a 38-page objection, with a long list of concerns.

A failed legal challenge to try and overturn a council decision to approve three separate planning applications at Heritage Park was launched in 2021 by SPVRG Ltd, which failed in early 2022; the council awarded costs of £10,000 despite external legal fees paid totalled £34,000 plus VAT.

At the June meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee members were told the recent judicial review call by SPVRG Ltd had been refused by the high court, the grounds put forward “not considered to be reasonably arguable”.

Committee chair Cllr Simon Hancock said a council request for SPVRG Ltd to pay costs incurred by the county council in defending the claim had now been submitted.

Following that, at the July planning meeting, in his chair’s announcement, Dr Hancock gave a clarification on the position.

“I can advise that whilst the application for judicial review was refused by the High Court Judge on May 31, 2024, the appellants have challenged this decision.

“This matter is listed for a renewal hearing, and accordingly the legal challenge is still in progress; I’m hoping that’s a clarification from the announcements I made back in June.”

Responding to the clarification, Trish Cormack of SPVRG Ltd pointed out it was not “an appeal,” adding: “Firstly, we are ‘requesting the decision to be reconsidered at a hearing,’ which is a bit less dramatic than ‘challenging the decision’.

“Secondly, the claim remains open for seven days after the decision on the papers in expectance of you requesting the hearing, and the form 86B comes attached to the decision with the case number already filled in for you. This is just part of the process for a judicial review. If the Judge really thought there were no merits to the case, he was free to issue a ‘without merits refusal’.

“That would have ended the claim there and then. The only way to resurrect it would have been to take it to the appeal court. But he didn’t.

“Thirdly, the announcement makes it sound like our ‘challenge’ had happened after their previous announcement, whereas in fact we only had seven days from May 31 in which to make the request, so they knew the moment we did (June 7) because we had to simultaneously email it to the court, PCC and the developer’s agent. So, they knew full well that there would be a renewal hearing.”

Farming

Farm building scheme near Lawrenny given go-ahead by planners

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AN APPLICATION for a storage building at a south Pembrokeshire farm, made by a family member of an officer on Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning service, has been given the go-ahead by the authority’s planning committee.

In an application recommended for approval at the July 23 meeting of the authority’s planning committee, Laura Elliot sought permission for the erection of an agricultural storage building at Tedion Farm, a dairy farm near Lawrenny.

The application had been brought to committee, rather than being delegated to planning officers, due to the family connection.

The farm, near to the Pembrokeshire coast National Park border, comprises 270 milking cows and dairy heifer replacements kept on the farm comprising land over 138 hectares. The farm is mainly down to grass and the cows are paddock grazed in order to utilise grass efficiency.

No objections had been received from local community council Martletwy.

A report for members said: “The application seeks consent for the erection of agricultural storage building. The erection of an agricultural building will be used to store stay, hay and farm machinery.

“The building would be located within the existing farm complex, to the north-east of the site, adjacent to the main farm dwelling. The building will measure 18 metres in length by 13.6 metres in width, with a pitched roof height of 5.71 metres.”

Approval was moved by Cllr Alistair Cameron, seconded by Cllr Brian Hall.