CPRW, the Welsh Countryside Charity, has welcomed the publication of the Independent Advisory Group’s long-awaited report on the Future Electricity Grid for Wales, which was first promised by the Welsh Government for December 2024.

The charity said the report, led by Professor Hywel Thomas, was “well-balanced” and, at times, “candid”, arguing it moves the debate beyond technical engineering questions to include the social and environmental issues that often drive opposition to new electricity infrastructure.

CPRW said one of the report’s key messages is that future grid investment must be planned strategically and designed “holistically and collaboratively” by all network operators, rather than through piecemeal schemes. The charity noted that such joined-up planning is tied to existing licence conditions, and said regulator Ofgem should consider whether network operators have failed to meet those obligations.

The charity also welcomed the report’s recognition that major infrastructure decisions involve trade-offs between quantifiable factors such as installation and lifetime operating costs and less tangible impacts on landscapes, wildlife and communities.

CPRW said these “softer” impacts can and should be assessed more rigorously, pointing to HM Treasury’s established approaches for valuing non-market impacts where public resources are involved, including methods that can place a financial value on landscape effects.

However, CPRW said the report highlights what it described as a “shocking” lack of transparency in strategic decision-making and insufficient community involvement when options are being developed.

The charity also suggested there may be gaps in the analysis, including whether enough attention has been paid to upgrading existing distribution networks using higher-capacity conductors, the potential use of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) for long-distance transmission, or making the existing grid more “meshed” to provide greater flexibility.

CPRW said the report’s recommendations may have limited reach for some schemes where responsibility is retained elsewhere — such as certain transmission projects or cross-border distribution — but insisted it still adds weight to the wider debate.

Dr Jonathan F Dean said: “If these recommendations are followed, some of the more contentious projects will need to have a serious rethink, unless they are fudged as some form of strategic investment.”

A PETITION plea to save a Pembrokeshire village school under threat of potential closure will be heard at full council.

At the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a call for a breathing space before any decision is made on Stepaside school, Kilgetty, part of a wide-ranging range of education changes mooted in the south of the county, was defeated.

At that meeting, a recommendation before members asked that the Director of Education be authorised to undertake a public consultation on establishing a new 3-19 school, on a split site initially, but as part of a future investment to rebuild/extend Tenby’s Ysgol Greenhill site, or potentially on a new site was backed.

As part of that it also recommended Tenby Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Ysgol Greenhill are discontinued.

A second part of the series of recommendations was a call to establish a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot School site, discontinuing Saundersfoot School and Stepaside school.

A report for members said there were many surplus places for all the schools in the proposals, with Stepaside having a surplus capacity of over 50 per cent.

The Tenby area proposals were backed, with amendments, but a call for a deferral on the second part concerning Stepaside was made by local member Cllr Alistair Cameron.

Cllr Cameron’s amendment call for a deferral was defeated by 37 votes to 12, the original proposal was later passed by 42 votes to seven, with the intention public consultations would be held next year.

Since then, an e-petition on the council’s own website, started by Angela Robinson, calls upon Pembrokeshire County Council “to Save Stepaside School and work with local communities to look at alternative solutions”.

“Stepaside School in Kilgetty is the heart of our community. It represents a high-performing local education asset that delivers significant public value. Any proposal to close it must be assessed not only in terms of short-term financial pressures, but against wider statutory duties, long-term social impact, and the strategic use of public funds that invests in our children best interest.”

The lengthy petition adds: “The rationale for closure appears primarily financial, yet any credible public spending decision must be based on a holistic assessment of costs, benefits, risks, and outcomes. This includes impacts on carers, children with additional learning needs, families from global majority backgrounds, and those reliant on local support networks.”

The e-Petition, which has attracted 582 signatures to date, runs to February 17.

If a petition gets 500 signatures or more, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a future full council meeting.

At the December meeting petition pleas to save Manorbier School and Ysgol Clydau, also at threat of potential closure, were heard; members noting those petitions.

A DOCUMENTARY capturing ultrarunner Sanna Duthie’s record-breaking run along the full length of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path is now available to watch online.

Filmed and directed by Martin from Kelp and Fern, the film follows Sanna as she completed the 186-mile National Trail in 48 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds, setting a new Fastest Known Time.

From the physical demands of running almost non-stop to moments of quiet reflection among Pembrokeshire’s cliffs, coves and headlands, the documentary offers a close-up look at the determination, resilience and motivation behind one of the UK’s toughest solo endurance challenges.

The film premiered at Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard in November at an event hosted by the Pembrokeshire Coast Charitable Trust. The evening raised more than £500 through ticket sales and a raffle, adding to the £3,000 already raised through Sanna’s run. All proceeds are supporting conservation, heritage and engagement projects across the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Sanna has since been named an official Ambassador for the Pembrokeshire Coast Charitable Trust, recognising her passion for the landscape and her ongoing support for the Trust’s work to protect and promote the Park for future generations.

The documentary is available to watch online via the Trust’s Fundraisers page:
https://pembrokeshirecoasttrust.wales/impact/our-fundraisers

Caption:

Sanna Duthie’s 186-mile Pembrokeshire Coast Path run is the subject of a new documentary now available to watch online.