News
Steady growth for tourism industry
NEWLY-RELEASED figures show the tourism industry in Pembrokeshire has experienced steady growth over the last seven years – and that visitors to the County are spending significantly more than they used to.
The total amount spent by visitors in local businesses topped a whopping £585 million last year, up from £502 million in 2009. That’s an increase of 16.5%.
Most of the additional spend on accommodation is in the serviced accommodation sector – hotels, guesthouses, inns and B&Bs. The number of staying visitors has remained fairly stable at 4.3 million but they are spending more.
Visitors who come to Pembrokeshire for the day but don’t stay overnight remain at about 10% of the total number of visitors.
Spending on food and drink has grown from £95 million in 2009 to £111 million in 2015. It has slowly overtaken spending on holiday accommodation in the last 10 years, which totalled £106 million last year. However, the accommodation sector still employs more than twice as many people.
The figures are from tourism data produced annually for local authorities in Wales known as STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Activity Monitor).
Alan Turner, Tourism Marketing and Development Manager at Pembrokeshire County Council, said “It’s great to see tourism in Pembrokeshire continuing to prosper in an increasingly competitive and worldwide marketplace.
“The hard work of the Destination Pembrokeshire Partners will have played a significant role in generating this growth. The partnership includes the Pembrokeshire County Council’s tourism team, Pembrokeshire Tourism, PLANED and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
“Our own marketing activity has been performing particularly well with the number of people accessing the Visit Pembrokeshire website topping 750,000 this year with three months still to go. PR activity and social media reach has also been extremely good.”
The positive trend appears to be continuing this year, with a combination of better weather and the uncertainty of Brexit encouraging visitors to ‘staycation’ in Wales. One prominent hotelier in Pembrokeshire even said it was ‘the best year the hotel has ever experienced’.
This optimism seems to be backed up by the Wales Tourism Business Barometer survey carried out by the Welsh Government during the summer. It suggested that the tourism industry in Wales has enjoyed a busy summer with ‘increased visitor levels across all industry sectors and regions of Wales’ and operators ‘fairly confident for the rest of the year’.
Keith Lewis, Cabinet Member at Pembrokeshire County Council responsible for Tourism, said “These results show that the tourism industry is working hard to provide the type and quality of service that modern visitors are looking for.”
Crime
Pembroke Dock woman in court for failing to remove rubbish from property
A PEMBROKE DOCK resident is due to appear before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court later today (Nov 25) for multiple alleged breaches of a community protection notice.
Sheena Deacon, of 13 Wavell Crescent, Pembroke Dock, faces charges under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which carries a maximum penalty of a Level 4 fine.
The charges stem from allegations that Deacon failed to remove accumulated household waste from her property on several occasions. According to court documents, the breaches occurred on September 19, September 26, October 2, October 9, and October 17 this year.
The charges indicate that Deacon, despite being issued with a community protection notice, did not comply with the requirements to clear and appropriately dispose of refuse and household waste from her address.
The Herald will bring updates on the case as it progresses.
News
Welsh Conservatives urge Labour to scrap ‘family farm tax’
THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have announced plans to bring forward a Senedd debate next week (Nov 27) calling on the UK Labour Government to abandon its proposed “family farm tax.”
The tax, introduced by the UK Labour Government, is being criticised as a move that will harm Welsh farming, threaten food security, and increase food prices. Alongside the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme and perceived “anti-farming agenda,” critics argue this new tax amounts to a coordinated effort to undermine the future of agriculture in Wales.
Shadow Minister warns of consequences
Ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, James Evans MS, condemned the proposal, stating:
“Labour’s family farm tax will put family farms out of business, threaten our food security, and lead to food prices rising. Only the Welsh Conservatives will stand up for our farmers, and that’s why we’re bringing forward a Senedd motion calling on Labour to reverse this decision. No farmers, no food.”
NFU Cymru expresses alarm
NFU Cymru President, Aled Jones, echoed these concerns, highlighting the widespread opposition from the farming community. Speaking about the impact of the tax on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, Jones said:
“Earlier this week, hundreds of farmers from across Wales journeyed to London to meet with their MPs and register their deeply held concerns about these misguided and ill-thought-out reforms.
“The proposals unveiled by the Treasury last month to introduce a tax on the passing on of our family farms to the next generation are a massive added burden. They will leave many farmers without the means, confidence, or incentive to invest in the future of their business.
“NFU Cymru reiterates its call for the UK Government to halt these changes.”
The motion to be debated
The motion, set to be debated in the Senedd, reads:
“To propose that the Senedd:
Calls on the UK Labour Government to reverse its decision to impose a family farm tax on agricultural businesses.”
This debate is expected to attract significant attention, with Welsh farmers and rural communities keenly watching for the outcome.
Community
Internet outage for two villages after exchange box destroyed
RESIDENTS of Clunderwen and Llandissilio have been left without internet access following the destruction of an Openreach exchange box just outside Llandissilio village.
The incident occurred yesterday (Nov 23) when the box was reportedly demolished by a vehicle. The damage has resulted in a complete loss of internet services for the two villages, with repairs expected to take at least a couple of days.
Local residents have expressed frustration over the disruption, as the outage affects home businesses, remote workers, and households relying on internet connectivity for day-to-day tasks.
Openreach engineers have cordoned off the site, and work is ongoing to assess the extent of the damage. A spokesperson for Openreach has been contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
The vehicle involved in the incident has not yet been identified. Anyone with information about the collision is urged to contact the local police.
With repair timelines unclear, affected residents have called for increased communication from service providers to manage expectations during the outage.
“Bringing the community back online is a priority,” a local resident said. “We’re hoping Openreach can resolve the issue quickly and ensure it doesn’t happen again in future.”
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Ryan Dansie
October 10, 2016 at 12:37 pm
According to the Bank of England inflation calculator £502 million in 2009 would be worth £607 million in 2015. Still not bad a slight decrease in real terms?