A MESSAGE FROM JO STEVENS

For the first time as Welsh Secretary, I’m delighted to be able to wish everyone across West Wales a happy St David’s Day.

Following the election last July, we promised to deliver change and that is what we have begun to do.

We pledged safer streets, green energy and, above all, new jobs and economic growth. Underpinning all of this was the promise of a transformed relationship between the UK and Welsh Governments – a partnership that delivers for the people of Wales.

Above all, our mission is to kickstart economic growth.

In West Wales we have already seen significant investment into the local economy. We’ve given the green light for the Celtic Freeport covering Milford Haven and Port Talbot, which will unlock millions in private investment and galvanise thousands of jobs in the area.

Supported by £26m in UK Government funding, the Freeport will encourage growth and investment by creating tax and customs incentives for business.

The Swansea Bay City Deal is delivering for the region. Just weeks after the General Election I joined First Minister Eluned Morgan and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to open the £60m Pembroke Dock Marine development which has transformed facilities at the port.

City Deal projects like the Pentre Awel health care and research development in Llanelli are hugely exciting while communities like Laugharne, Llangwm and Nantgaredig are being connected to ultra-fast broadband helping to boost productivity and breaking down barriers to opportunity in those areas.

This is what we mean by driving growth in all of our communities.

The UK Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower also provides huge opportunities for West Wales.

The region is home to a world class clean energy sector with abundant natural resources and the potential to be the powerhouse for economic growth for Wales and the wider UK.

The golden opportunity of floating offshore wind will be a critical part of our clean energy mission and we are working with the Welsh Government and industry partners to develop floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea which could support up to 5,300 new jobs and generate up to £1.4bn for the UK economy. Local ports will be vital for supporting this growing industry.

And the UK Government has identified Pembrokeshire as a pilot area to develop a skilled clean energy workforce, which could see funding for targeted measures such as training centres and courses to upskill workers.

These are the jobs of the future and it was fantastic to meet apprentices at Dragon LNG and Ledwood Engineering when I was in Pembrokeshire recently. My hope is that more young people in West Wales will be able to stay in their home area and develop fantastic careers in the new industries the region is attracting and which the UK Government is supporting.

It is clear that in just a few short months, the new UK Government has made significant strides. Building on our strengths in green energy, industry and, most of all, our people I know West Wales will continue to be a brilliant place to do business.

I’d like to send my best wishes to everyone there celebrating our national day.

THE IPG and Cabinet have jointly proposed a budget for Pembrokeshire County Council, including a reduced Council Tax rise, on which councillors will vote at next week’s Full Council meeting.

The budget cuts 0.5% from a proposed 9.85% Council Tax increase and includes key concessions from the budget originally proposed by the County Council’s Cabinet.

The budget was originally scheduled to be set at a meeting on February 20. At that meeting, the Independent Group moved a Notice without Motion to delay consideration of the budget until the final financial settlement from the Welsh Government (WG) was confirmed. The move aimed to prevent the implementation of a 9.85% Council Tax rise for 2025/26.

On February 21, the Welsh Government confirmed a 0.25% increase in its financial settlement for Pembrokeshire. That decision added around £540,000 to the Council’s budget for next year.

After considering the revised settlement, the IPG drafted an alternative budget to the one proposed by the Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Josh Beynon. In an unprecedented move, the Cabinet considered the alternative proposal and decided to endorse it. This marks the first time in the Council’s history that an administration has accepted a budget proposed by one of the opposition groups.

Key takeaways of the proposed budget:

• A Council Tax rise of 9.35% instead of 9.85%
• A proposed 3.5% cut in education reduced to 2.9%
• Proposals for four-weekly bin collections abandoned, with three-weekly collections to remain
• The Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund retained
• Additional funds for street cleaning maintained, rather than removed as originally proposed
• Additional funding allocated for public toilets

Speaking to The Herald, a member of the IPG said the decision to agree on a budget with the Cabinet was “the socially responsible thing to do,” as the Group acknowledged that services had to be protected without incurring further debt, which would necessitate future cuts and higher tax increases.

IPG Leader Cllr Huw Murphy told this newspaper: “Cabinet requested sight of the Independent Group’s proposals, and we agreed to that step.

“It’s important to remember that councillors have a legal duty to set a budget. Therefore, in the best interest of Pembrokeshire’s residents, we agreed to allow the Cabinet to see our proposals.

“In light of the additional funding received from the Welsh Government, the Cabinet accepted the Independent Group’s proposals without the need to present a budget of their own on March 6.

“It is highly unusual for an opposition budget proposal to be accepted by any administration, but it indicates the delicate balance of power within PCC and the reality that offering a significant reduction in Council Tax carries inherent risks to both the authority and residents in terms of the loss of services many consider essential.”

However, Cllr Murphy added: “As the largest opposition group, the Independent Group will continue holding the Cabinet to account. Doing so on February 20 led to this budget.”

Cllr Murphy continued: “Any Council Tax rise is not good news for residents. However, the Independent Group’s proposals mean a slight decrease in the proposed Council Tax rise while offering options to retain services under threat.

“Fundamentally, the lack of funding from both London and Cardiff is the root cause of financial pressures on Welsh local authorities, which have risen exponentially. Furthermore, the UK, with vanishingly small economic growth alongside a need to increase defence spending to confront existential threats abroad, will see reduced funds available for local authorities.”

Huw Murphy concluded: “As Independent councillors, we speak free from the pressures of party loyalty on any subject where the best interest of residents is our core objective—not winning or saving a Senedd or House of Commons seat.”

The Conservative Group, which proposed its own budget, reacted furiously to the apparent deal between the largest opposition group and the Cabinet.

The Herald understands a flurry of messages expressing exasperation, disappointment, and anger have flooded councillors’ phones, with one Conservative Group member questioning whether the Independent Group still counted as the opposition.

The Conservatives said their proposals would increase school budgets by £6.6 million and offer an innovative solution to the Council’s future leisure provision.

With the publication of the Council agenda, their hopes of passing their budget appear dashed.

Cllr Aled Thomas, the Conservative Group spokesperson on Finance, was relatively restrained, though his frustration was evident when he told The Herald:

“It’s clear from the proposals on the table that the Independent Group and the Labour-leaning administration are happy to work together to see the continued managed decline of the Council rather than work hard for the people of Pembrokeshire.

“Every day, this council asks for more money from residents and provides them with less in return. That mindset has to stop, and a change is clearly needed.

“What’s even more disappointing is that around 2.5% of this year’s Council Tax increase will go straight to Rachel Reeves’s coffers in Westminster as a result of National Insurance increases and won’t be spent on Pembrokeshire services.”

PLANS for a replacement 334 -foot-high wind turbine in north Pembrokeshire, more than twice the height of the existing one, have seen the local community council call for its refusal, saying it offers “no benefit to the local community”.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Surrey-based Constantine Wind Energy Limited, which manages some 200 turbines throughout Great Britain, seeks permission for a 102-metre-high wind turbine at Sarnau Farm, near Trelech.

The application would replace an existing 45-metre-high turbine, granted permission in 2014.

In a supporting statement, Wilmslow-based agent Axis PED Limited said the applicant has full agreement with the landowner to install a larger turbine, adding: “The proposed development would increase the generation output by more than 209 per cent of the current output supporting an estimated 318 average households’ energy usage, which is an estimated additional 211 homes than the existing turbine on the site.

“This is a significant improvement to the existing output at the site. Furthermore, by replacing the existing wind turbine with a wind turbine which has a larger output capacity, the site’s contribution to renewable energy generation targets and greenhouse gas emissions targets is increased.”

The replacement turbine is expected to operate for 25 years.

It says visual impact will be “no greater than Moderate Adverse,” and that offset by there being an existing turbine on site, adding: “When the actual change in visual impact is considered against the increased level of renewable energy produced at an existing electrical generation station, it is clear that, on balance, the visual impacts associated with the increase in turbine height and rotor diameter, are outweighed by the beneficial contribution the replacement turbine would make in the transition away from fossil fuels and the ability to meet UK Net Zero targets in line with the Government’s commitments.”

Local community council Clydau has strongly objected to the proposal, raising concerns including the size is more than double that existing, and potential visual and noise impacts.

The council’s objections added: “The health and wellbeing of those living closest to the proposed turbine was of great concern; uppermost in councillors’ minds was the fact that the proposed turbine would be of no benefit whatsoever to the local community. It was noted that properties closest to the turbine would be devalued.

“Councillors hope for an outcome to the above application that benefits the local community; most especially those living within close proximity. This can only mean a firm ‘No’ to the proposal.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.