News

Egnedol meets Council over Eco Park plan

Published

10 years ago

February 12, 2016

Pyrolysis scheme: Mr Steven Whitehouse explaining ambitious plans to council members

MEMBERS of Milford Haven Town Council were joined by members of the public for a presentation by Egnedol on Monday night (Jan 25).

Mr Steven Whitehouse, a chartered engineer and director of Cypriot-owned Egnedol Bio-Energy Limited, spent an hour explaining his company’s plans for the development of the brown field site. The land the company has purchased formerly housed RNAD Blackbridge, and parts of the former Gulf refinery in Waterston.

At the meeting Mr Whitehouse explained to councillors that, subject to a planning application to be submitted next month, some of the existing buildings would be retained, and that new buildings would be also erected.

Plans included poly-tunnels with brick bases, heated by hot air discarded from the new pyrolysis power plant. This, he said, will be used to heat algae, fish and prawn tanks. Prawns and fish harvested from the tanks will be processed at the new fish processing facilities at Milford Docks.

The company also plans to produce Halloumi cheese, which is a semi-hard brined cheese made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk. It is eaten primarily in Greece and Turkey. The company said they would source milk from local sources.

It was also established that the daffodil fields in Waterston would not be developed on as a means of ‘ecological mitigation’.

The power station, initially billed to generate up to 49.9MWe of electricity, will use a combination of waste wood and sustainable wood chip supplies – the latter to be imported from Morocco and Cyprus.

Waste gasses will be emitted from a 60m high stack near to the existing Wards Pier. The company has promised that there will be no noise audible from the boundary of the facility, and that emissions will be minimal, with nitrogen oxide fumes being 99% below the government-accepted safe level.

Councillors were also shown slides detailing the number of jobs that were expected to be created in each division of the new Eco Park – Mr Whitehouse said: “These will be well paid jobs, and we have already started working with the local job centre in Milford Haven to recruit suitable candidates. We have already recruited three security guards locally. West Wales has a large pool of people with the right skills.”

He added: “We are also working with Swansea University who lead the way in research in algae. We have made contact with Pembrokeshire College and we hope to be working with them on this project also.”

After the presentation councillors were able to ask questions about the proposed development.

Cllr John Cole asked: “How do you intend to control pollution from this proposed development?”

Mr Whitehouse replied: “We use ADMS4 modelling, a computer model which looks at meteorological data and the background air quality to model levels of NO2. We understand that Milford Haven is a sensitive area for N02, but we will use urea injectors in this process to minimise emissions.”

He added: “We will also have automatic shutdown if set levels of emissions are breached.”

Cllr Tony Miles did not seem encouraged by the scheme. He said: “We know that N02 is a known killer – and the top of the 60m stack will below the level of my house and other houses in Waterston. Also the jobs you are proposing are artificial – you cannot support all of these jobs.”

Cllr Miles also asked if developers had met with the local authority to discuss the additional traffic load on Waterson and the impact on a nearby playground. Mr Whitehouse confirmed that they had not.

Faced with Cllr Miles’ pessimistic tenor, Mr Whitehouse explained that the Eco Park development was a positive thing for Milford Haven, and that it was manufacturing food in an environmentally friendly way, from the waste heat from a pyrolysis plant which was supplying much needed electricity and gas. The prawns produced without the need for antibiotics would mean that a quality premium product would be created. Water for the plant would be collected from rainwater, he said, to conserve mains water supplies.

Cllr Eric Harries said: “We are waiting with baited breath for the response of the Environment Agency on this.”

Cllr Guy Woodham asked questions about the safety of the plant, and was told that the wood fuel for the plant would be sucked from ships in enclosed tubes ‘like a big Hoover’ and therefore there would be little or no fire risk.

Members of the public were not permitted to submit questions but the company promised that there would be a public meeting at the Pill Social Centre in the very near future where further details would be revealed. Those details are awaiting consultation with the other industry partners on the Milford Haven waterway.

Ministry of Defence

Castlemartin range set for heavy activity as winter live-fire exercise begins

Published

2 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Army warns of late-night firing and increased traffic

CASTLEMARTIN Training Area will be extremely busy over the next few weeks as the Army begins a major live-fire exercise running from now until to 5 December.

The winter training block will see troops carrying out critical preparation ahead of future deployments, with extensive armoured manoeuvres and both daytime and night-time firing.

Extended firing hours

Live firing will take place between the following times:

Monday: 8:00am – 6:00pm and 8:00pm – 3:00am
Tuesday: 8:00am – 6:00pm and 8:00pm – 3:00am
Wednesday: 8:00am – 6:00pm and 8:00pm – 3:00am
Thursday: 8:00am – 6:00pm and 8:00pm – 3:00am
Friday: 8:00am – 6:00pm

There will be no live firing at weekends, although military vehicles will still be moving around the area.

Residents are being reminded that these times are the earliest and latest possible firing windows. Not every day will start or finish at the maximum hours listed.

Traffic expected on rural roads

The Army says there will be increased vehicle movements on local roads—particularly in Angle, Castlemartin and the Freshwater West area—in the week leading up to the exercise and throughout the training period.

A spokesperson said the support of local people is appreciated: “These exercises are essential for maintaining readiness and ensuring our troops are fully trained for any future operational requirement.”

Crime

Two Milford Haven men sent to Crown Court on GBH charges

Published

3 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Court Reporter

The incident stems from a violent incident outside The Vibe public house, Milford Haven involving three men – a woman was also wounded in the incident

TWO Milford Haven men have been sent to Swansea Crown Court charged with section 18 wounding after an alleged incident in the town on November 15.

David McCallum, 41, of Plas Peregrine, Steynton, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates court on Monday (Nov 17). He is accused of unlawfully and maliciously wounding a woman in Milford Haven with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

McCallum also faces a second section 18 charge alleging that, on the same date in Milford Haven, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded a man with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm.

He was represented by solicitor Tom Lloyd, with the prosecution conducted by Nia James.

On Tuesday (Nov 18), Nathan Abbott, 31, also of Plas Peregrine, Steynton, appeared before District Judge Mark Layton at Haverfordwest magistrates court.

Abbott is charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding a man in Milford Haven on November 15 with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

He was represented by Mike Kelleher, of Welch & Co.

Abbott also gave no plea, and his case was likewise sent to Swansea Crown Court under section 51 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Both McCallum and Abbott were remanded on conditional bail.

McCallum’s bail conditions include a curfew from 7:00pm to 7:00am, to be electronically monitored, not to contact directly or indirectly witnesses, and not to enter any public house, licensed club or off-licence.

Abbott’s bail conditions include living and sleeping each night at his home address , not to contact witnesses directly or indirectly, and not to enter licensed premises.

Both men must appear for a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing at Swansea Crown Court on December 19, 2025, at 9:00am.

No pre-sentence reports were ordered and no indication was given regarding any victim personal statements at this stage.

Crime

Aberystwyth man remanded after admitting cocaine supply

Published

3 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Court Reporter

Case sent to Swansea Crown Court for sentencing

AN ABERYSTWYTH man has been remanded in custody after admitting possessing cocaine with intent to supply and having £7,000 in criminal cash.

Luke Hutton, 25, of Corporation Street, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Nov 17) for his first hearing. The case was heard by a bench of Mr J Steadman, Mrs M Scott and Mr R John. He was represented by Jessica Hill and Mike Kelleher, while the prosecution was led by Nia James.

Hutton pleaded guilty to two offences arising from a police incident at Yr Hafan, Princess Street, Aberystwyth, on November 14.

The first charge was possessing £7,000 in criminal property, contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The second was possessing a quantity of cocaine, a Class A drug, with intent to supply.

Magistrates were told that Hutton indicated guilty pleas to both matters on the day of his appearance.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, the bench committed the case to Swansea Crown Court for sentence under Section 14 of the Sentencing Act 2020. A pre-sentence report has been ordered.

Magistrates refused bail, citing the likelihood of further offending, the seriousness of the offences and the likely custodial sentence. Hutton was remanded into custody.

He will next appear at Swansea Crown Court on December 1, 2025, at 9:00am, for a committal for sentence hearing, listed for 30 minutes.