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‘Investigation’ into grants begins

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grants beginsON MONDAY, January 20, what was scheduled as a review of controversial grants awarded to property developers in Pembroke Dock under the Town Heritage Initiative and Commercial Property Grants Scheme turned into a full-blown investigation into the activities of builders and property developers who have benefited under them.

Although the word “review” appeared on the meeting’s agenda, the word “investigation” featured prominently in addresses to the Council made by Council officers, Mark Lewis, Director of Finance and Leisure; Dr Steven Jones, Director of Development; Gwyn Evans, the authority’s European Manager; and Jonathan Haswell, the Council’s Head of Internal Audit.

The meeting began with a striking reversal of position; Monitoring Officer Lawrence Harding confirmed that ALL Councillors WOULD have confidential access to documents and financial information concerning claims submitted for works and payments made under the schemes.

WE CAN’T ACCOUNT FOR EVERY PENNY

IN A REMARKABLE address to the County Council’s Audit Committee on Monday, Director of Development Dr Steven Jones confirmed that the audit procedures used by the authority meant that he could not guarantee that every penny claimed under the Town Heritage and Commercial Property Grant Schemes in Pembroke Dock had been spent by the developers concerned.

Dr Jones prefaced his remarks by claiming that although the chain of command left him ultimately responsible for the schemes, he was not involved in their day-to-day management and was not involved in their detailed scrutiny. Dr Jones went on to announce that in circumstances where money had been claimed for works not done then the Council would seek to recover those monies from property developers.

KEY PROPERTIES NOT INSPECTED

COUNCIL OFFICERS adopted a bullish and confident tone in their presentations to the Audit Committee, each pointing out that they had complied with procedures applicable to their respective roles. Mr Gwyn Evans told Committee members that even if there were problems with the Commercial Property Grant Scheme “which there are not” the Council had sufficient powers to reclaim money incorrectly paid out.

Under questioning from East Williamston Cllr Jacob Williams and Independent Committee Chair John Evans it was confirmed that DESPITE the assurance to the contrary given to December’s Full Council by IPPG Cllrs Pugh, Adams, Hall and Allen-Mirehouse properties in Dimond Street had NOT been checked and inspected: at the time of a major inspection in May 2012 the projects had not begun. Council officers had no idea which properties were inspected in a further audit visit in October 2012. Cllr Guy Woodham followed up by establishing that the Old Coronation School in Meyrick Street, Pembroke Dock, had not been checked by external auditors, as it was a residential development funded by the Town Heritage Initiative.

Under further questioning from Cllr Woodham officers confirmed that the process used by the Council to provide information to external bodies depended upon the provision by Council officers of small samples of data relating to individual projects, instead of a detailed examination of the bills of quantities for all of them.

Officers also confirmed that the Town Heritage Initiative did not have a procedural manual available for inspection as none was in place.

COUNCIL’S “MARGIN” REVEALED

ONE PIECE of information provided to Audit Committee members was the revelation that for each £ paid out under the Commercial Property Grants Scheme, the County Council obtained 9p. The recovery of this 9% was explained by the Council’s European Manager, Gwyn Evans, as covering its administration costs for the grants scheme and funding other enhancement works.

Mr Evans went on to claim that enhancement works and Council street improvements, such as the Tudor Rose paving project in Pembroke, would have been impossible without the Council recovering money out of the grants scheme.

COUNCILLORS QUERY WORKS

AUDIT COMMITTEE members and officers travelled to Pembroke Dock to see the buildings for themselves.

Stopping first at the Old Coronation School, where questions were raised about the refurbishment of the roof and windows, they moved on to Commercial Row before moving on to Dimond Street.

Accompanied by Cllr Mike Stoddart and Labour Leader Paul Miller, the Committee and officers visited 29 Dimond Street to gauge the works done for which £21,000 had been claimed. Councillors expressed some astonishment at the condition of the shop’s interior in light of the claims made for its refurbishment and were told by a Council surveyor, Steve Owen how grant money had been spent:

“There has been a new kitchen, WC, staff room, new wiring and fire alarm system – that’s the kind of thing they had to do.”

Cllr David Simpson asked: “You mean don’t know what work has actually been done?”

A local passer-by who knows the shop well, told Herald Assistant Editor Jon Coles, taking photographs of the visit, that he was amazed at the claims, saying that little or no work had been done in respect of the shop’s retail space. He said that the old fire alarms were still there, the partition and ceiling had not been removed and that apart from “perhaps a lick of paint” little had been done to change the shop’s interior.

On examination of the shop, Councillors noted that contrary to the expectations raised by the summary of works provided by the Council’s surveyor, a large hole in the toilet roof enabled them to see the underside of the floor above it and establish that the ceiling had not been insulated as stated or at all.

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

MIKE STODDART told the Herald that the visit raised more questions than answers about how the Council justified the grant given to the developer:

“It seems that part of the answer lies in some creative thinking by the officers involved in calculating these grants. What emerged during the site visit to 29 Dimond Street was that the cost of the Celotex insulation in the roof had been charged to retail space on the grounds that it would contribute to countering heat loss from the shop.

“You might think it would contribute a lot more to keeping warm the five bedsits on the upper two floors.

“These 40% retail refurbishment grants – financed by the Welsh Government – are designed to regenerate the shopping centres of places like Pembroke Dock. “Quite how this is achieved by turning former retail space into bedsits is not immediately obvious.”

INVESTIGATION TO TAKE TIME

ON RETURNING to County Hall, Committee Chair John Evans told members that there was a consensus that the site visit was a positive and worthwhile exercise Members of the Committee and all members of the Council now have the opportunity to look at the information about the scheme and satisfy themselves as to the claims submitted and payments made. It is anticipated that this process will take over several weeks in a room set aside for members to scrutinise the paper trail.

Mike Stoddart told The Pembrokeshire Herald:

“This is a big improvement on what I was trying to achieve at Full Council, where my Notice of Motion to allow members to inspect these documents with the all financial information redacted was defeated by the IPPG block vote. I have now withdrawn my call for an Extraordinary Meeting to enable the investigation to proceed.”

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Les

    February 1, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    The tax payers of Pembrokeshire owe a big vote of thanks to one individual for his dogged persistence in uncovering the issues around these grants.

    Despite being vilified and bullied by the leadership of the council and others, guess what – it turns out Old Grumpy is right ! Any body who follows Cllr Stodarts blog will have known that he was right from day one.

    His photograph of a slated roof and the comment ” they must have re-battoned and felted the entire roof without actually removing the slates” was the killer fact for me.

    The council should realise they are dealing with a superior intellect and not try to outwit him !!!

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Police seek witnesses to Llanelli incident involving black car

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POLICE are appealing for witnesses to an incident that took place at around 10:30pm on Tuesday night (Nov 5) in Llanelli.

A report indicates that a teenage boy, who was walking along Emma Street into Dilwyn Street, was followed by a black car. The teenager, wearing a bright orange coat, was allegedly shouted at by the driver of the car, who then swerved towards him. Fortunately, the teenager was able to run away and returned home unharmed.

Police are urging anyone with information that could assist their investigation to contact Dyfed-Powys Police. Reports can be made online at https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, via email at [email protected], or by calling 101. Deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired individuals can text the non-emergency number at 07811 311 908.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.

Please quote reference 464 of Nov 5.

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Carmarthenshire County Council successfully delivers new homes

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CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has created new homes in Carmarthen which will provide modern and energy efficient accommodation for four families.

The new development sits on the site of the former Wauniago House and features three x two-bedroom homes and one x four bedroom home.

With a focus on maximising energy efficiency and reducing energy bills for residents, the homes are powered by electricity rather than traditional gas central heating, generating a smaller carbon footprint and removing the reliance on fossil fuels. They also feature high levels of insulation, keeping them warmer for longer.

Solar panels have also been installed to generate their own clean energy and LEDs provide low cost lighting.

The homes will be allocated in accordance with a Local Lettings Policy (LLP) created specifically for the development. This will focus on providing homes for local people with specific criteria in place which considers local issues and helps to create a balanced sustainable community.

Cllr Linda Davies Evans, Cabinet Member for Homes said: “The new homes on the former Wauniago House site are a fantastic addition to the accommodation that Carmarthenshire County Council has already delivered so far this year in Llanelli and Carmarthen, with more projects currently under development for completion in 2025.

“I’m delighted that this project will provide good quality family homes for local people and makes good use of a site previously occupied by a building that was unfortunately no longer fit for purpose.”

The developments form part of Carmarthenshire County Council’s commitment to provide 2,000 affordable Council homes in the next five years. This also contributes towards the Council’s green energy agenda.

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Pembrokeshire masseuse shortlisted for National UK Beauty Awards 2025

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Pembrokeshire beauty consultant Nina Conant has been shortlisted as one of the UK’s top massage therapists after winning her way to the National Beauty Awards 2025.

As a result, Nina will now be attending the glittering awards ceremony that takes place in Liverpool on February 20.

“I still can’t believe that I’m going to be a part of such a prestigious event,” a delighted Nina told The Pembrokeshire Herald from her salon at NF Therapies which is on the Withybush Trading Estate in Haverfordwest.

Born and raised in Haverfordwest, Nina trained at Pembrokeshire College before working at a number of health and beauty spas throughout Pembrokeshire.  But two years ago, she decided to venture out on her own and open NF Therapies.

“My original idea was to open in March 2020, but naturally Covid put a stop to all that,” she laughs.

“Obviously it meant I couldn’t work face-to-face with my clients, so I tried to build my online following and get people engaged in all the positive effects that massage can have.”

Nina designed a series of online videos which introduced people to the technique of carrying out their own DIY massage techniques to help them tackle some of the anxieties and stresses associated with lockdown.

“The videos proved a big hit but then, following the opening of NF Therapies, the number of people who are now turning to me for help has continued to grow.”

Last year Nina was named Masseuse of the Year in the Welsh Hair and Beauty Awards at Cardiff City Stadium.

Nina Conant, pictured at the Wales Health and Beauty Awards 2024, where she was named masseuse of the year.

“Yes, it’s a huge honour to be shortlisted once again – this time for the National Beauty Awards which includes the whole of the UK and Ireland – but I believe it’s largely the result of the way I’ve always tried my hardest to communicate with my clients.

“It’s about so much more than just learning the techniques and applying them as a masseuse.  You also have to learn to listen to them, to try to find out precisely where their aches and pains are, but also to give them the opportunity to talk about what might be happening in their lives.”

Nina has helped support people who are going through domestic abuse, family disputes, financial struggles, anxiety, stress-related illnesses and depression.

“At the end of the day, massage is all about wellbeing, which includes both a person’s physical and emotional health,” she explained.

“Massage helps the body to detox and it’s always wonderful to see just how greatly people can benefit from it.

“I’ve met so many people since setting up the business and I’ve made so many friends.  It’s wonderful to see them coming back for other beauty treatments besides the massage and to see just how much it’s benefiting them in their everyday lives.”

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