AN EXAMINATION of the minutes of the meeting of a key council committee that took place in June reveals that the Milford Haven Town Centre Regeneration Scheme, for which the county council secured funding from the Welsh Government, was focused on the improvement, repair, and refit of the former Motorworld building in the town’s Charles Street until at least June this year.

However, during the meeting of the council’s Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee, not a single councillor mentioned Milford Haven at all, and, while the other five towns targeted for town centre regeneration had a number of projects as part of plans affecting them, the only item under consideration for the whole of Milford Haven’s town centre was the former Motorworld building.

And while the committee ‘noted progress’ it is impossible to ascertain what progress had been made regarding Milford Haven – if any – as it is barely referenced – other than on one line listing the Charles Street building – in the report councillors received.

The funding intended to regenerate the town centre has now been directed to the controversial Masterplan submitted by the Milford Haven Port Authority, with the council directing the funding that should have gone to the town centre to the Port’s plans for the Old Quay Stores.

The fact that the Port development is not related to the town centre of Milford Haven is shown by the content of the original planning report on the Port Masterplan, which states “The application describes the development as delivering a new commercial and leisure quarter for Milford Haven, a distinctive place with its own unique character and revitalising the fishing port and leisure marina.”

And, in relation to the proposed retail development of the docks, the same report draws a firm distinction between the port and the town centre: “The proposed food and non-food retail stores will be within walking distance of the town centre. Indeed, the proposals are between, and adjacent to, two parcels of the defined town centre…. It has been concluded that there will be only a limited impact on the town centre and there is a lack of suitable alternative sites within the town centre.”

Bearing in mind the ‘limited impact’ on the town centre of the proposed retail development, it is difficult to make the idea that town centre regeneration funds should be allocated to the Port as anything other than a considerable stretch, not least as the Port masterplan is keen to draw a distinction between the facilities on offer there and those in the town itself.

Moreover, when the council’s Cabinet discussed the matter on September 12, the fact that the Old Quay stores is not part of the town centre is demonstrated by the preamble to its discussion in the Cabinet papers: “Following a meeting with Milford Haven Port Authority, an application has been submitted to assist with the start of the delivery of their Masterplan. The focus of the bid will be the Quay Stores building and adjacent land, which will assist with connecting the town centre with the marina.”

The development shown on the Masterplan for that building is a hotel. However, the plan discussed and approved by Cabinet for the location is to provide private rented accommodation.

There appears to be the familiar signs of a hasty re-jig of policies against a timetable that has become tight due to council inertia, and warnings were given at the Cabinet meeting on September 12 that there was a deadline imminent for drawing down the funds. The details of the meeting between the county council at the Port Authority which apparently stitched up the deal were not before the Cabinet and remain unpublished.

Neil Jenkins, Destination Director at the Port of Milford Haven, said: “The Port of Milford Haven has applied for the maximum loan amount of £1.25m from the Welsh Government Town Centre Loan Fund to assist with the redevelopment of the Quay Stores building, a listed building within the Port’s property portfolio. Under the terms of the loan scheme the sum would be repaid over five years.

“If the application is approved, detailed planning permission would be sought from Pembrokeshire County Council, along with listed building consent. Subject to gaining the necessary consents and entering into tenancy agreements, work would hopefully start on site in 2017.”