News

Haverfordwest: Bigger Lidl store plans approved

Published

6 years ago

September 7, 2016

Bigger Lidl: A render of what the new store will look like (pic. Boyes Rees Architects)

A NEW Lidl store will be built in Haverfordwest after plans were approved by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee.

A previous application had come to the committee in February but those plans were refused because officers were unhappy with the design.

Since that meeting, the applicant has met with the council to discuss issues and yesterday (Sep 6), a new application was brought to the committee with a recommendation of approval.

It was considered by officers that the new design was ‘significantly better’ than what had been proposed on the last occasion.

As part of the plans, the current Lidl store on Perrots Road will be demolished as will the former Blands car garage to make way for the new store.

The access into the current site will also be closed off and a new entrance will be located on Thomas Parry Way with a new pedestrian access from Perrotts Road.

However, there were concerns over a shared use path which officers felt should be extended to improve public safety and imposed this condition on the recommendation.

The agent for the application said that Lidl did not think this was needed while some councillors said that the request was excessive.

A vote to remove that condition was passed by seven votes to five.

Agent Owain Griffiths said: “Since that decision in February, we have met with the council’s officers and worked closely with them to address and overcome the concerns previously raised, resulting in a revised application.

“Officers consider it to be an attractive design which would enhance this area of Haverfordwest and the conservation area.

“Lidl is willing to gift an area of land and extend the shared use path along Perrots Road and Thomas Parry Way, thus improving accessibility to the site for cyclists.

“However, officers are now seeking to impose a condition requesting an additional section of a shared use path to be provided on the southern side of Thomas Parry Way, along the frontage of the store together with a crossing point at the store’s access.

“This was raised with us last week but in our opinion there will be no change to pedestrian or cyclist travel line to warrant this additional section of shared use path and the request is considered unreasonable.

“This represents a multi-million pound investment which will regenerate this area, it will provide up to 40 jobs, doubling the existing store’s employment role as well as construction jobs and the replacement store will benefit consumers through increased choice and competition and will not have a detrimental impact on the town centre.”

Cllr Brian Hall said: “I was delighted that the initial application was refused, this is a drastic improvement. The only thing that does concern me is the shared use path and I think it’s essential. One of the conditions is the provision of a shared use path, can we insist the developers fill this in, regardless of the cost, this is a massive investment.”

Cllr Jacob Williams said: “I don’t believe the extension of the shared use path is necessary. The site as it is currently looks like an eyesore. I feel we are imposing this condition just because we can. I don’t think this is a priority.”

Cllr Keith Lewis thanked the agent for his co-operation with the council and added: “This will improve the site significantly. This is an important element in progressing the redevelopment of Haverfordwest. I am of the view that the shared use path is an excessive requirement.

Head of Planning David Fitzsimon asked for the committee’s trust in terms of the shared use path saying they have a duty to encourage sustainable travel patterns and that this was an essential piece of safety.

However, Cllr Williams responded saying that the extra burden was not necessary and moved that the condition be removed and that was seconded by Cllr Keith Lewis and passed by seven votes to five.

The plans without the imposed condition were approved by a unanimous vote.

News

Carbon capture option Pembroke Power Station

Published

8 hours ago

October 6, 2022

Tom Sinclair

RWE, who operates Pembroke Power Station, has signed a contract with Fluor – a global engineering and construction firm that specialises in carbon capture projects. The project will investigate the feasibility of retrofitting post-combustion capture of carbon at Pembroke Power Station. The study is expected to take six months, completing in early 2023.

This feasibility study is part of RWE’s ambitious decarbonisation plans centred around the Pembroke Net Zero Centre, which brings together knowledge and expertise from across RWE’s offshore wind, gas-fired generation and hydrogen businesses to develop green energy solutions for both Pembrokeshire and the South Wales region. This is the second project to come out of RWE’s Pembroke NetZero Centre (PNZC), which launched earlier this year.

This report will form part of the analysis required for RWE to participate in the UK Government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) cluster sequencing process. This was a commitment to deploy CCUS in a minimum of two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s, and four by 2030 at the latest in support of the UK’s transition to net zero.

RWE is developing options for the decarbonisation of its 2.2 gigawatt gas-fired Power Station in Pembroke, among them post-combustion carbon capture and the introduction of hydrogen as a clean fuel. Pembroke’s South Wales location provides it with the unique advantages of being within an industrial hub and creating collaboration opportunities with partners from within the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) who together cover the full low carbon value chain, including – from the necessary ship transport and storage of CO2 to the supply of clean hydrogen.

Richard Little, Director of the Pembroke Net Zero Centre , said: “RWE is committed to decarbonising its business by 2040, a date that in the UK fits nicely alongside the Government’s ambition for a net zero power sector by 2035. Through our PNZC we will create a hub for our green energy projects, including the development of floating wind in the Celtic Sea, the development of a hydrogen electrolyser and decarbonisation of Pembroke Power station through a mixture of carbon capture and hydrogen fuel. We are already working with South Wales businesses to help them meet their decarbonisation targets, while supporting the Welsh Government to achieve its ambitions for Net Zero.”

Julian Marschewski from RWE Generation’s Strategic Development department , said: “Kicking off this technical feasibility study with Fluor is an important step towards creating tangible options for our lighthouse decarbonisation project at Pembroke. The experience gained will also give us a better understanding on how to decarbonise RWE’s wider fleet of gas-fired assets.”

RWE is at the forefront of green innovation and is aiming to invest £15 billion in the UK in green energy projects by 2030. The company has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the development of hydrogen projects across Europe, and at the same time creating skilled green jobs.

The feasibility study has been partly funded by South Wales Industrial Cluster; a consortium of Wales’s major industry, energy, infrastructure, law, academic and engineering organisations of which RWE is a key member. The cluster was successful in securing support from the public and private sector to develop a range of partner decarbonisation deployment projects for the region.

News

Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre welcomes manager of Lucasfilm

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2022

Cerys Lafferty

THE NEW Millennium Falcon exhibition at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre welcomed a very special visitor recently, one whose major support and contributions made the unique project possible.

Lynwen Brennan, Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Lucasfilm Ltd – who was brought up in Pembrokeshire – had a first hand insight into the Pembroke Dock Falcon exhibition, which opened earlier this year.

Detailing the construction of the first complete version of the iconic Millennium Falcon for use in the Oscar winning ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, the exhibition has been an amazing success over the summer, attracting thousands of Star Wars fans to West Wales.

The spaceship was constructed in a Pembroke Dock aircraft hangar over 40 years ago.

Brennan was welcomed by Trust Chairman Graham Clarkson and Exhibition Project Manager Mark Williams along with Trustees Rik Saldanha, Gareth Mills and Martin Cavaney.

When viewing the many images on display, most of which had been kindly supplied by the Lucasfilm Archives, Brennan paid special attention to the photos that had been taken by some of the workers at the time of the construction.

She remarked: “This is such a wonderful personal story to the people of Pembroke Dock; I am so

happy that this has finally been made possible.”

She also praised the scale model of the Falcon that takes centre stage in the exhibition, demonstrating the stages of construction, “This is a very clever way to show exactly how the Falcon was put together,” she added.

Brennan was given a special preview of the centre’s plans to develop and expand the exhibition by integrating both virtual and augmented reality experiences. Her son particularly enjoyed playing with the virtual Falcon model.

Project Manager Mark Williams commented: “This visit means so much to us all at the centre. After all of the hard work put in by everybody, it was a pleasure to show the results to the person who effectively made the whole project possible. We look forward to when we can welcome Lynwen and her family back to her home county again.”

Remember to vote for the Pembroke Dock Falcon exhibit in the National Lottery Awards Project of the Year competition.

Education

MHS Big Picture on tour

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2022

Cerys Lafferty

DID you know that being creative can reduce stress, anxiety and help reduce symptoms of depression?

Milford Haven School Art Club does, and that is why they want to invite our community to join them in creating a Big Picture together for World Mental Health Day.

Charities and organisations such as 2Wish, Samaritans and Liss Listens will be teaming up with Milford Haven School to help paint our Big Picture.

Our Big Picture will go on to be donated to the community and be displayed in Milford Haven to spread joy and positivity.

Join them on Friday, October 14 between 10am and 2pm at Pill Social Centre. No experience is needed, everyone is welcome and all equipment and refreshments will be provided on the day.

They can’t wait to see you all