News
First meeting of the new Cabinet
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Left to right: Cllr Neil Prior, Cllr Paul Miller, Cllr Phil Baker, Cllr Bob Kilmister, Cllr David Simpson, Cllr Cris Tomos, Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Cllr Pat Davies, and Cllr David Lloyd.
THE FIRST meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s new Cabinet takes place today (Jun 12).
Councillor David Simpson, the new Leader of the Authority, has appointed eight Cabinet members to direct policy and make decisions on key issues.
They are all new faces to the Cabinet apart from Councillor David Lloyd, who served as Cabinet Member for Education under the previous administration.
Councillor Simpson said he was excited about the combination of knowledge and breadth of experience possessed by the Members.
“I’m very happy with the Cabinet because I have picked them on their ability and nothing else” he said.
“I’m especially pleased about the new cabinet role of Transformation and IT, which I’ve introduced because of the impact that I feel Transformation will make to the Authority.”
He has not appointed a Deputy Leader, as all Cabinet Members will be expected to deputise for Councillor Simpson if necessary.
The Cabinet Members are as follows:
Councillor David Simpson, Lampeter Velfrey (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Corporate Matters
David has been a magistrate for 20 years and a County Councillor since 2004. He retired from business in 2000. David moved to Pembrokeshire in the early 90s, after having a holiday home in Neyland.
A Duke of Edinburgh Gold award holder and a staunch supporter of the scheme, he lives in Clynderwen and is married with four children and seven grandchildren.
Councillor Neil Prior, Llanrhian (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Transformation and IT
Neil’s family moved to Pembrokeshire over 30 years ago and he himself returned home two and a half years ago having worked for blue chip companies including O2 and Microsoft.
During his career he has worked with over 100 local authorities across the UK, helping them to make the most of technology to provide services more efficiently and effectively. He is looking forward to bringing this experience to help the County Council respond and adapt to the challenges it faces.
Councillor Paul Miller, Neyland West (Labour)
Cabinet Member for Economy, Tourism, Leisure, and Culture
First elected in 2012 representing the Neyland West Ward, Cllr Miller has led the Council’s Labour Group for the past five years.
Paul’s professional work has seen him lead major capital development and regeneration projects across the UK and this experience will be key as the new administration takes a more proactive approach to regeneration and development across Pembrokeshire.
Councillor Phil Baker, Saundersfoot (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Assets
Since 1982, Phil has worked both for Civil Engineering Consultants and Civil Engineering Contractors in Pembrokeshire and across the UK. Projects have included reclamation schemes, Local Authority and Private Development infrastructure installations, Water Utilities Asset Management Capital investment Programmes and for the last 12 years Welsh Government Highway Improvements.
Phil has represented Saundersfoot as County Councillor since 2008 and has been a Saundersfoot Community Councillor since 1998. He is the County Council appointee on Saundersfoot Harbour Commission and Governor at Saundersfoot C.P. and Greenhill School.
Councillor Bob Kilmister, Dinas Cross (Liberal Democrat)
Cabinet Member for Finance
Bob lives on a smallholding near Llanychaer with his wife of 40 years Nikki. He worked for J Sainsbury Plc for 30 years mainly running large supermarkets in the West Midlands. These had an annual turnover of up to £18 million and employed over 300 staff. He finished his career working as the link between the Distribution and Retail arms of the business.
He has always been interested in politics, and was a District Councillor in Worcestershire for eight years being elected first at the age of 25.
Councillor Cris Tomos, Crymych (Plaid Cymru)
Cabinet Member for Environment and Welsh Language
Cris has over 25 years’ experience of working with social enterprises and charities to develop sustainable non-grant dependent income. He has developed and helped set up several community benefit cooperatives in West Wales. The majority of the new cooperatives are community asset based, where redundant buildings are bought by the community to allow new social enterprises to trial their services.
Cris was named Wales Co-operator of the year in 2012, and Wales Social Enterprise Champion in 2013.
Councillor Tessa Hodgson, Lamphey (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Social Services
Councillor Tessa Hodgson grew up in Milford Haven where she attended the grammar school. She has a background in business and marketing and currently owns and runs a B&B and holiday cottage complex near Lamphey.
She is a mum of three teenagers who are all educated locally. Since being elected in 2012 she has served on the Older Persons Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Senior Staff Committee.
Councillor Pat Davies, Fishguard North West (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services and Housing
Pat has for many years been involved and had concern around social issues and she intends to bring her experiences into her new role. She says she is delighted to have the opportunity to work with a new team of Cabinet Members under the new and vibrant Leadership of David Simpson.
“We start, I feel, with fresh innovative ways of working in a professional manner to bring about a progressive and inclusive County Council,” she said.
Councillor David Lloyd, St Davids (Unaffiliated)
Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning
David is a Pembrokeshire man who has been involved in community action for the past 50 years. He was a Dyfed County Councillor in the eighties during which time he moved the creation of the Economic Development Committee. In the nineties, he campaigned for the National Eisteddfod to visit St. Davids for the first time in 2002.
He has been a County Councillor and Chair of Governors at Ysgol Dewi Sant since 2012, leading the campaign to save the school from closure in January 2016.
Community
Public reminded to stay away from Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay
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THE PORT of Milford Haven is reminding members of the public to stay away from Ward’s Yard in Milford Haven and Criterion Quay (sometimes known as the offshore jetty) in Pembroke Dock due to concerns over public safety.
Despite significant security measures, people continue to access the sites illegally, ignoring and sometimes damaging the onsite signage and fences.
Niall Yeomans, Head of Health, Safety and Security at the Port of Milford Haven said: “Safety is our key priority. Members of the public are continuously putting themselves and members of our team at risk of serious harm by trespassing in these areas.”
“Both Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay are unsafe for public access. They are isolated areas next to deep water and are susceptible to slips, trips and falls.”
Both sites are owned by the Port of Milford Haven and are private property. Anyone found onsite without consent is trespassing, and any criminal damage could result in prosecution.
Anyone who sees any suspicious activity at Ward’s Yard or Criterion Quay is asked to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101 urgently.
Crime
‘Sophisticated’ organised crime gang trafficked cocaine and cannabis to Aberystwyth
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FIVE people have been found guilty or admitted to conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis as Dyfed-Powys Police continues its efforts to dismantle organised crime gangs.
Officers seized cocaine with a street value of more than £400,000 from gang members, who continually changed tactics to avoid arrest.
Six defendants have appeared in court in the latest phase of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Operation Burleigh, which sought to disrupt the trafficking and onward supply of class A and B drugs into Aberystwyth, with all but one admitting their charges or being found guilty by a jury.
This brings the total number of people awaiting sentence under the operation to 15.
The court heard that officers from Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team and Ceredigion Priority Policing Team led the investigation into the OCG, which was described as ‘sophisticated, well-organised and evolving’.
Detective Sergeant Steven Jones said: “This conspiracy operated on a County Lines model, where controlled drugs are trafficked into a smaller rural town from a larger city, and the operation is controlled by one or more ‘drugs lines’.
“In this case there were a total of four lines controlling the supply of cocaine and cannabis within Aberystwyth.
“The conspirators frequently evolved their actions to frustrate the authorities and evade capture.”
The OCG embedded members were mainly asylum seekers brought to Aberystwyth by Toana Ahmad and another man who remains outstanding, with the sole purpose of dealing drugs. The drug lines were initially based in Swansea, and later in areas of Birmingham.
Three properties – on Terrace Road, Alexander Road and Parc Graig Glas – were identified early in the investigation as being used to house the OCG members embedded in Aberystwyth. Substantial amounts of cash, controlled drugs and weapons were recovered from these properties, and from the people found inside.
When arrests were made, the gang changed its tactics. Drugs began to be supplied from vehicles, and OCG members stayed in guest houses to avoid detection.
DS Jones added: “Trusted couriers were employed to transport drugs to Aberystwyth and cash back to Birmingham or Swansea. A number of vehicles, including taxis, were used as the gang attempted to avoid detection along the route, while trains were also taken when courier cars were stopped by officers.”
In June 2023, two vehicles travelling from the West Midlands towards Aberystwyth were stopped by police on consecutive days. A black sock was uncovered in the engine of the first car, which was found to contain 82g of high purity cocaine divided into 169 grip seal plastic bags.
Davinder Singh, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs, was the driver of the second vehicle, which was a taxi. A blue plastic bag was seen falling out of his shorts, which contained over 81g of high purity cocaine divided into 167 grip seal bags.
DS Jones said: “On the basis that the amounts of cocaine transported over the 37 couriers over the course of the conspiracy period were similar, over 3kg of cocaine would have been conveyed to Aberystwyth from Birmingham.
“This equates to class A drugs with a potential street value of over £308,950. In addition to this, class A drugs were seized from individuals and addresses with a potential street value of £103,445, along with cash totalling £11,687.
“A number of teams and departments across Dyfed-Powys Police, from analysts, CCTV operators and priority policing teams, to CAB, the Technical Support Unit, Economic Crime Team and Force Intelligence Bureau all assisted in dismantling the OCG from top to bottom.
“Their dedication and relentless efforts have assisted in making Aberystwyth a safer place to live without the threat and harm of drugs being made easily available on the street.”
After a seven-week trial at Swansea Crown Court earlier this year, the following three defendants were found guilty for their parts in the conspiracy:
- Toana Ahmad, aged 33, of Lee Gardens in Smethwich, West Midlands
- Barzan Sarhan, aged 31, of no fixed address
- Ahmed Piro, aged 26, of no fixed address
The jury failed to reach a verdict on two defendants during the earlier trial. They have been subject to a retrial starting on July 1, with the following outcomes:
- Hawre Ahmed, aged 35, of Pinderfields Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.
- Diar Yousef Zeabari, aged 35, of Flat 5, 41 Bryn Road, Swansea, was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.
Karwan Karim, aged 39 of 125 Griffith John Street, Swansea, also stood trial, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs on day three.
In addition to the OCG members found guilty during the most recent trials, the following have previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs under Operation Burleigh:
- Davinder Singh, aged 36, of Huntingdon Road, West Bromwich
- Daban Khalil, aged 23, of Streetly Road, Birmingham
- Kastro Omar, aged 30, of Junction Road, Northampton
- Karwan Jabari, aged 26, of Weedon Close, Northampton
- Walid Younis Abdal, aged 34, of St Anne’s Road, Doncaster
- Saman Aziz, aged 41, of Kirk Road, Merseyside
- Adel Mustafa, aged 39, of Hubert Road, Newport
- Charlotte Roberts, aged 21, of Sutton Hill, Telford
The following have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs:
- Akasha Smith, aged 24, of Third Avenue, Aberystwyth
- Luqman Jarjis, aged 21, of Wake Green Road, Birmingham
News
Community asked for views on allocation of new St Davids homes
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THE FIRST phase of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Glasfryn housing development in St Davids is progressing well with the second phase also underway.
The development being built by GRD Homes Ltd, began in November 2023, with a first phase completion date of Winter 2024 looking hopeful, ahead of the scheduled plans.
The first phase consists of seven properties, including a mixture of one and two bedroom bungalows
As completion draws closer the properties will be advertised via Pembrokeshire Choice Homes.
Ahead of this, the Council’s housing team will be holding community engagement on the 13th August 2024 at the Ty’r Pererin Centres, Quickwell Hill, St Davids, SA62 6PD, 5pm-7pm.
This will be a chance for officers to liaise with the local community about the allocation process for these properties.
Glasfryn’s second phase is well underway, with the initial groundwork already completed. This phase includes a further 11 two bedroom bungalows, with a completion date in late 2025.
These bungalows will meet the latest Welsh Government’s Development Quality Requirement, and will be energy efficient, built to EPC A specification and include solar panels to help tenants with running costs.
The Glasfryn development is funded in partnership with Welsh Government.
Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Michelle Bateman said: “We are really keen to work with the community on a local lettings policy for these new properties, as we have done for our developments in other parts of the County.”
If you have any queries please email the Customer Liaison Team on [email protected], phone them on 01437 764551, or visit Housing’s Facebook page.
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