News

Toilets ‘top of the pile’

Published

9 years ago

April 11, 2016

New Charge: A charging system has now been installed in the ASDA car park in Pembroke Dock

PUBLIC toilet provider DANFO has received praise for the work it has carried out in Pembrokeshire in 2015.

The Council’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Tuesday, (Mar 15), to hear a presentation from DANFO.

DANFO highlighted that charging systems were being installed in Narberth, Tenby South Beach, Pembroke Dock and Broad Haven to go with the other four that had already had charging systems put in place.

They also highlighted a number of cases of vandalism in toilets in Felindre and in Castle Lake, Haverfordwest, which was the subject of fire damage in January 2016.

Pictures were shown of the damage at both sites alongside what they looked like after DANFO had finished repairs.

Nine members of staff were also employed DANFO, of which none of them had been in previous employment.

Jon Mills, Operations Manager at DANFO, said: “By December 2015, DANFO had received £40,000 worth of contributions towards the running costs of public toilets in the county and this was through introducing charging mechanisms.

“We’ve had significant investment in refurbishing a number of facilities across the county and employed additional local people to our full time staff cleaning service. Through those people we have delivered an award winning service.

“We’ve also spent approximately £50,000 just through our trade and maintenance of all the toilets and over 1000 maintenance repairs were carried out in 2015.

“There was a provision within the tender contract to install charging mechanisms to generate income. The income generation goes to the operational costs of the service and invested back into local public toilet provision.

“You’ll notice that there are four more sites listed, two of them are being installed today (Mar 15) so Narberth and Tenby South Beach are being installed. Broad Haven and Pembroke Dock were installed last Tuesday so we will have eight sites now collecting income.

“All the efforts put in by the team over 2015 has led us to achieving something that we are very proud of which was the External Cleaning Contractor of the year for 2015 across Wales and the UK. That’s for the work we are doing here down in west Wales. All the toilets are inspected by an independent inspector from the Loo of the year organisation.

“Pembrokeshire’s toilets achieved the platinum award. Pembrokeshire’s toilets became top of the Premier League in 2015 as compiled by the Loo of the year Awards so we are top of the pile at the moment.”

Cllr David Howlett congratulated DANFO on their award and asked whether or not there had been any success in finding the people that had committed the acts of vandalism.

Jon stated that no one had been caught for the damage caused to the toilets in Felindre but that people had been caught for the damage caused the toilets in Haverfordwest.

Richard Brown, Head of Environment & Civil Contingencies at the council, told councillors of the jobs that the cleaners have to go through with some experiencing excrement in handdryers.

He added: “There’s a tender price so we pay DANFO every month so we’ve got a fixed price and when they submitted their price to us it was based upon the assumption that £45,000 would be generated so their price was x-minus £45,000 so anything above that then comes to the council.

“The charging has been well received and I think we have had 120,000 visits in two months. The income generation has exceeded expectations but we actually have a problem now where there is no incentive for DANFO to invest in any further charging. “We didn’t really know from the outset how many people would take to charging.” DANFO Operations Manager Andrew Mcilduff added that he was delighted with how things had turned out and also said that Keswick was watching what had been done in Pembrokeshire and added that they wanted exactly the same as what had been installed in Tenby. Cllr Jonathan Preston said that DANFO’s involvement was a success story and asked if they had considered alternative methods of payment such as a contactless card. It was agreed there may be some benefits to that but that there would be more costs involved.

News

2024 Sport Pembrokeshire Awards Finalists announced

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE finalists for the 2024 Sport Pembrokeshire Awards have been announced.

In total, 252 nominations were received and, following a selection meeting, the judging panel has named 39 finalists.

Matt Freeman, Manager of Sport Pembrokeshire, said: “I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to provide nominations.

“Every year it gets harder to narrow the nominations down to three finalists and once again the quality of the nominees was enormously high.

“The number and quality of nominees just shows the strength of the sporting scene here in Pembrokeshire.

All the finalists will be invited to a grand presentation ceremony at Folly Farm on Friday, November 29th, where the winners will be announced.

The ceremony will also reveal the winners of two further categories – the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chairman’s Special Achievement Award.

The awards are organised by Sport Pembrokeshire, Pembrokeshire County Council’s sport development team.

They are sponsored by Sport Pembrokeshire, Valero, Folly Farm and Pure West Radio.

The awards aim to recognise those people who have excelled in sport over the last 12 months, or who have given their time to coaching and organising grass roots sport.

Sport Pembrokeshire Awards 2024 – Finalists

(In alphabetical order)

Coach of the Year

Francesca Morgan (Swimming)

Philippa Gale (Netball)

Tom Richards (Tennis)

Female Sporting Achievement

Gracie Griffiths (Race Walking)

Helen Carrington (Powerlifting)

Seren Thorne (Shooting)

Male Sporting Achievement

Jeremy Cross (Tennis)

Rhys Llewellyn (Athletics)

Sam Coleman (Powerboat Racing)

Boys (U16) Sporting Achievement

Carter Heywood (Football)

Hugo Boyce (Cycling)

Ned Rees-Wigmore (Hockey)

Girls (U16) Sporting Achievement

Cerys Griffiths (Swimming)

Chloe John-Driscoll (Shooting)

Ffion Bowen (Football)

Disability Sport Award

Evelyn Thomas (Powerlifting)

Jules King (Crossfit)

Marc Evans (Cricket)

Junior (U16) Disability Sport Award

Finnley Walters (Boxing)

Jac Johnson (Gymnastics)

Lewis Crawford (Boccia)

Unsung Hero

John Laugharne (Rugby)

Owen Shanklin (Pool)

Sue Christopher (Surf Lifesaving)

Team Achievement of the Year

Alan Evans, Andrew Evans & Michael John (Short Mat Bowls)

Fishguard & Goodwick Ladies Hockey Club

Pembrokeshire County Bowls Team

Junior (U16) Team Achievement of the Year

Chaos Thunder U12’s Netball Team

Hakin United AFC u16’s

Neyland Yacht Club Junior Sailing Team

Young Volunteer of the Year

Anna May (Tennis & Surfing)

Caitlin Chapman (Netball)

George Richards (Cricket)

Club Organiser

Nadine Tyrrell (Gymnastics)

Nick Shelmerdine (Cricket)

Paul Hudson (Short Mat Bowls)

Club of the Year

Camrose AFC Women & Girls Football

Haverfordwest Gymnastics Club

Strength Academy Wales Cymru

Pictured above: The 2023 Club of the Year winner – Pembroke Cricket Club.

Crime

Man jailed for Pembroke Dock cannabis farm involvement

Published

5 hours ago

November 15, 2024

Madeline Knox

AN ALBANIAN man, Armando Beti, 37, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (Nov 15) for his role in producing class B drugs.

Beti, who has prior convictions in 2022 and 2023, was arrested on October 3, 2024, at 10:00am after police found him hiding in a neighbouring building’s attic. The arrest followed a raid on the former Woolworths building on Dimond Street, Pembroke Dock, where officers discovered three rooms containing 594 cannabis plants. The crop was described as part of a wholesale operation, with an estimated street value of between £64,000 and £196,000, depending on yield.

Using an aerial drone, police tracked Beti as he attempted to escape by crossing two rooftops. He pleaded guilty immediately after his capture, claiming the cannabis farm was already operational when he arrived 10 days earlier. Beti described himself as merely the gardener, tasked with watering the plants, and alleged he was coerced into the role by individuals he met at an immigration detention centre to repay a debt.

Beti’s defence counsel stated: “He is under no illusion regarding the seriousness of his offending. He is eager to start his prison sentence so he can ultimately reunite with his wife in Albania.”

However, Judge Geraint Walters rejected Beti’s claims, citing a pattern of similar excuses in previous cases. The judge noted that Beti had been convicted in Cardiff in 2022 for cultivating over 600 cannabis plants, during which he also claimed to be a coerced gardener with little knowledge of the operation.

In delivering the sentence, Judge Walters said: “People like you need to understand that judges are not completely naive. We know what is going on. We are well aware of the activities of criminal Albanian gangs in this country, as are you.”

Police believe the operation uncovered in Pembroke Dock is linked to a wider network of organised crime targeting rural locations for cannabis cultivation.

Community

Pembs Agricultural Society’s Christmas Fair expands to an all-weekend event

Published

8 hours ago

November 15, 2024

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S Christmas Fair will be an all-weekend event next month. The Christmas shopping extravaganza is all set to take place on Saturday, 14 December as well as Sunday, 15 December.

The Parkhouse building on the Haverfordwest Showground will be transformed into a Christmas paradise. There will be even more stalls this year with a wide variety of quality local businesses exhibiting as well as festive music, Santa in his Grotto and an outdoor food court.

Judith Roach and Emma Thomas, the event organisers, said, “We are excited to be able to announce that our Christmas Fair will be on for two days rather than just one this year. We continue to build on the success of last year’s event with twice the opportunities to attend and even more stallholders. It will be the perfect start to the festive season as the Parkhouse Building will be transformed into a one-stop-shop for those preparing for Christmas.”

The Fair will be open from 10am until 4pm and admission is free. Visitors will find unique gifts, handmade decorations, art and beautiful homeware. Some of the county’s very best food and drink producers will also have stalls to give visitors the opportunity to stock up on all their festive treats. From decadent chocolate brownies, fudge, festive spirits to Welsh cheeses, there’s something to tantalise everyone’s tastebuds. There will also be a range of outlets for ‘on the go’ eating and drinking.

One special guest at the event will be everyone’s favourite bearded gentleman in red – Santa will be taking time out from his busy schedule to attend the event. There will be a charge of £3 per child to visit Santa and all proceeds will go directly to Sandy Bear charity to support their work. Each child will receive a small gift from Santa as part of their visit. Parents can book in advance via the website: www.sandybear.co.uk/santa

Adam Thorne, Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s President is looking forward to the festive event. He said, “The Society would like to thank Judith and Emma for all the hours they have put in, voluntarily, to organise the two-day Christmas event. We’re delighted to be able to offer visitors the opportunity to do all their Christmas shopping whilst enjoying the festive atmosphere.”

Follow Pembrokeshire County Show’s Christmas Fair event page on Facebook for a full list of stallholders in the run up to the event.