News
Haverfordwest: Work underway on new Welsh medium school
WORK has started on building a new Welsh medium school for three to 16-year-olds in Haverfordwest.
A ground-breaking ceremony to signal the start of construction was hosted on St Davids Day by contractors Willmott Dixon on the site at Withybush.
The £28 million development is being built as part of the 21st Century Schools Programme – a collaboration between Welsh Government and Pembrokeshire County Council who share the cost between them.
The school is one of five new schools currently under construction in Pembrokeshire under the £120 million initiative with refurbishment work due to start on a 3 – 16 school in St Davids this summer.
Four new schools have already opened.
The new school includes a:
• 45-place nursery
• 315-place primary provision
• 600-place secondary school
• 24-place playgroup (Cylch Meithrin).
Also included is an all-weather sports pitch and associated facilities.
County Council Leader, Jamie Adams, told guests at the ceremony that the school represented the first ever investment in Welsh language secondary education in that particular part of the county.
The only other Welsh medium secondary provision in Pembrokeshire is based in Crymych, with travel times from the mid and south of the county in excess of 45 minutes.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for the Welsh Language, Huw George, welcomed pupils from Ysgol Glan Cleddau in Haverfordwest – whose pupils will transfer to the new school once it is open – and pupils from Gelli Aur in Pembroke and Narberth which will act as feeder schools for the 11 – 16 element.
Ysgol Hafan y Môr in Tenby, which is also a feeder school, was unable to attend.
Before cutting the first sod of turf with Councillor Adams, Preconstruction Director for Willmott Dixon Wales and the West, Andrew Dobbs, told guests that ground-breaking was an important milestone celebrating the start of construction for an exciting new school.
He added: “This modern, state-of-the-art facility will provide the very best environment for learning. Willmott Dixon will maximise local spend whilst providing opportunities for local employment and training to ensure that we leave a lasting legacy for the community.”
The school is due to open in September, 2018.
News
Surrogacy: Carmarthenshire solicitor calls for legal reform
ON the anniversary of the Law Commission’s call for surrogacy law to be overhauled, JCP Solicitors’ Angela Killa, Director in the Family team, is calling on prospective surrogates and parents to better understand the legal rules around this complicated path to parenthood.
Proposing a new regulatory route for surrogacy arrangements in the UK, the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Government puts forward a change to the law so that intended parents would become parents of the child from birth in certain circumstances. Currently, intended parents must wait months to obtain a parental order ¾ which causes stress and anxiety, not to mention administrative difficulties when registering the child.
A Surrogacy Register would also be created under the new proposals, allowing surrogate children to trace their birth origins later in life. Overall, the recommendations laid out in the report would improve regulation of domestic surrogacy to dissuade UK residents from going abroad, as international surrogacy agreements can bring greater risk of exploitation of women and children in some countries.
A year on from the reform suggestions, surrogacy rates continue to rise in the UK – surging by 350% over the past 12 years. Now, legal experts say it is more relevant than ever to understand the full implications of entering a surrogacy agreement.
Angela Killa, Director in the Family team at JCP Solicitors, explains: “In the UK, a surrogate (and her husband or male civil partner, if relevant) are considered the mother (and father) of a child at birth. Intended parents must apply for a Parental Order, which is heard before the Court ¾ making it highly advisable for those involved in surrogacy cases to appoint a Solicitor.
“We often see immense stresses from both the parents and the surrogate, as the current law means that the parental order can take months to obtain which can be incredibly anxiety-inducing.
“For example, intended parents may worry that the surrogate will change her mind or will not give her consent freely, whereas surrogates may also worry that the intended parents may change their mind(s) or make unreasonable demands during pregnancy.
“This feels particularly difficult given the fact that many intended parents are likely to have dealt with a lot of trauma before considering surrogacy: many have faced fertility struggles and may even have dealt with the devastation of failed pregnancies or baby loss. For LGBTQ+ couples, there may have been additional challenges faced due to discrimination or prejudice. Therefore, empathy and consideration is of paramount importance when discussing this issue.”
The government published an interim response to the report in November 2023, with Maria Caulfield MP stating: “While we appreciate the importance of this work, parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment.” Despite this response, legal experts working in surrogacy encourage the Government to take action and fully consider the proposed amendments.
Angela explains: “The reforms laid out in the Surrogacy Reform Act by the Law Commission may help to ease the stress and pressure for all involved. The Government are encouraged to provide a full response as soon as possible so progress can be made in this important area of law”.
Angela Killa is a member of Resolution, a family law organisation advocating for a constructive approach to family issues.
Community
Mayor of Bergen visits Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre
IT was a Mayoral gathering when the Burgermeisterin of Bergen, in Germany, paid a visit to Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in the company of Councillor Aden Brinn, the Mayor of Bergen’s twin town, Pembroke.
There to meet Burgermeisterin Claudia Dettmar-Muller and her colleague Silvia Bothe were two former Mayors of Pembroke Dock, Councillors Pam George and Maureen Colgan, and trustees and volunteers who run the Centre. Joining them was Pembroke’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ann Mortenson.
Trustee Peter Mitchell and colleagues gave a guided town of the Centre which has extensive displays on Pembroke Dock’s rich maritime and military history spanning just over two centuries, and its connections with RAF flying boats.
Pic By Martin Cavaney.
News
Police ask motorists to avoid A44 trunk road due to heavy snowfall
DYFED-POWYS POLICE have issued an appeal to motorists to avoid a 25 mile section of the A44 trunk road between Aberystwyth and Llangurig due to it being impassable due to heavy snowfall.
In a warning issued at 4am on their social media accounts the police said: “Please avoid the area and find alternative routes for your journey.”
Meanwhile, last night The Nags Head in Lampeter uploaded pictures of the snowy scenes in the area, and were encouraging customers to come in and sit next to their ‘nice warm fire’.
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