News
Costly empty buildings

Costing the most: The old county library
PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is spending £600 a day on vacant properties across the county it has emerged. This year alone, the cost for empty properties will be almost £250,000.
A total of £253,992 was spent on nine empty units within the Cleddau Bridge Business Park. Many of these units have been empty since 2007 and the most expensive one has cost over £51,000.
Another huge cost was at the school on Charles Street in Neyland and the accompanying day centre, totalling £52,012. The huge cost of this site is one of the reasons the council wished to sell the land, and there are now 42 homes planned to be built on the site.
The biggest cost is the former library on Dew Street in Haverfordwest that closed in 2013, which totalled up to £163,836.
Since 2008, a change in the law has meant that owners of buildings which have been vacant for more than 3 or 6 months must now pay 100% of the rates, when previously it was 50%.
There are 44 empty properties on the list which are owned by Pembrokeshire County Council. In a five year period between 2012 and 2017, the properties will have cost a massive of £922,501.
Crime
Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident
A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.
Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.
The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:
- Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
- Common assault
- Assault by beating
No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.
Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.
Crime
Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges
Defendant remanded in custody
A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.
David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
- A second count of assault
- Criminal damage
- An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
- A public order offence
Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.
Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”
A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.
The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.
Crime
Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults
Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing
A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.
Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.
During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.
Charges Include:
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
- Intentional non-fatal strangulation
- Common assault on a woman
- Criminal damage in a domestic context
- Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
- Breach of bail conditions
Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.
Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.
No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.
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Tomos
July 26, 2016 at 9:49 pm
Do they care? It’s not as though it’s theor money is it? http://oldgrumpy.co.uk/2016/2860/money-down-the-drain/
Lee
July 27, 2016 at 1:52 pm
Seems to me a bit of a non-story….do ‘rates’ not go to PCC? Thus, it isn’t so much costing PCC money as moving money from one department to the next?