THE COUNCIL’s Cabinet will consider a notice of motion to end its support for the annual Long Course Weekend.

At December’s Council meeting, a notice of motion seeking to withdraw support from the event was considered and remitted to the Cabinet and the Services Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

The motion, submitted by Saundersfoot Councillors Chris Williams and former Cabinet Member for Finance Alec Cormack, acknowledges that Long Course Weekend has been a significant success in terms of showcasing our county and promoting physical activity.

However, they claim that as the event has grown in scale, it has increasingly led to disruption for residents and businesses along the course, many of whom report inconvenience or loss of trade due to road closures spanning up to three days.

While Pembrokeshire County Council does not directly contribute cash to the event, it offers substantial “in-kind” support.

Cllrs Cormack and  Williams say that, given the feedback from residents and businesses, public support for the event has diminished. Additionally, they say that in light of the Council’s ongoing financial pressures, it is no longer appropriate to allocate resources to support a profit-driven event at taxpayers’ expense.

They propose that PCC withdraws all support for the Long Course Weekend moving forward, ensuring that council resources are directed towards services and initiatives that directly benefit the wider community.

The event’s organisers, Activity Wales, have reacted strongly to the motion, pointing out the strong economic and social benefits provided by its presence in Pembrokeshire.

Activity Wales has also proposed significant changes to the event in 2025 to reduce the acknowledged disruption caused by the event in and around the village of Saundersfoot.

Activity Wales proposes an open-road format for the bike course in 2025, introducing a new single-loop route that avoids Saundersfoot altogether. The organisers claim: “The open-road format decreases the logistical challenges of full road closures, minimising disruption to non-event traffic. This also helps communities in areas where there are two days of closures.”

They also propose spreading the event more widely around Pembrokeshire, anticipating that doing so will increase economic activity and community engagement across the county rather than focusing it on already busy tourism-heavy areas.

Supporting data show that the Long Course Weekend, which takes place during the tourism industry’s “shoulder season” (i.e. before the high tourism season), brings significant economic benefits to Pembrokeshire. The Long Course Weekend (LCW) alone generates nearly £8 million of economic activity in Pembrokeshire. If the Council withdraws its support from the event, Activity Wales says that a successful event, whose format originates in Pembrokeshire and is now used worldwide, would no longer be happening, affecting other Pembrokeshire events’ future viability.

As a first step, the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss the issue on Friday, January 10, before the Cabinet decides on the next steps on Monday, January 13.

ON MONDAY, January 13, the County Council’s Cabinet will decide whether to make an application to the Welsh Government to fund works to reduce the risk of flooding at Lower Priory and Havens Head.

The proposed scheme focuses on the Havens Head culvert.

It is recommended that the Cabinet approve the application after spending time and money investigating the project’s viability.

If the Council’s application succeeds, it must part-fund the project from its capital budget.

Lower Priory and Havens Head have suffered from extensive flooding in recent years. In 2018, a row erupted after heavy rainfall caused water levels to rise rapidly, threatening residential properties and businesses along the low-lying area of the partially reclaimed salt marsh and river valley. Milford Haven Port Authority, which had built over the former marshy area at Havens Head, was accused of being responsible for the damage after building over and tarmacking a substantial area of formerly tidal soakaway.

The Council and residents blamed the Port Authority. The Port Authority denied liability.

However, after the Port Authority invested in improved flood prevention and water attenuation measures, similar inundations have been avoided, despite several instances of even heavier rainfall than that which caused extensive flooding in 2018.

Now, the Council proposes to step in with further measures to reduce the risk of flooding even further.

The estimated total cost of construction is £1,657,861. The total amount requested from the Welsh Government is £1,409,182, which amounts to 85% of the cost of construction.

Within its formal expression of interest, the Authority has requested £845,510 for the financial year 25/26 and £563,672 for the year 26/27.

If its application is successful, the Authority will be invited to apply for funding for the construction phase of the scheme through the Welsh government’s Flooding and Coastal Erosion Management grant stream.

The Welsh Government has supported the scheme to date, including fully funding the preparation of a Full Business Case and design stages. However, grant funding is not guaranteed, as the scheme will compete with other demands for funding from the same pot from other areas of Wales affected by flooding. Given that many of those other areas are more populous (and form part of Labour’s electoral core vote), the Welsh Government may choose to allocate resources to them instead of Milford Haven.

A sticking point for the current administration could be councillors’ preparedness to invest in capital projects. The Council’s Cabinet has received much criticism over its approach to capital projects, including some ill-informed and disingenuous posturing that suggests grant funds for building things can be used to fund services.

Whether councillors believe that putting the brakes on this potential capital project is justified depends on whether a majority of them think reducing the risk of flooding is worth the hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money that the Council must contribute to it if it proceeds.

NEARLY 25,000 taxpayers began the new year by completing their Self Assessment tax returns on January 1, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed. An additional 38,000 individuals submitted their returns on December 31, with 310 filing just before midnight.

With less than a month until the January 31 deadline, HMRC warns that 5.4 million people still need to file their returns to avoid penalties. Filing and paying on time supports public services and the government’s economic stability initiatives.

Avoid Penalties by Filing on Time
Failing to meet the January 31, 2025, deadline for the 2023-24 tax year could result in an initial penalty of £100. Additional charges apply for prolonged delays:

• After three months: £10 daily fines up to £900.
• After six months: 5% of the tax owed or £300, whichever is greater.
• After 12 months: A further 5% or £300, whichever is greater.

Late payments also incur a 5% penalty after 30 days, six months, and 12 months, plus interest on unpaid amounts.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC Director General for Customer Services, urged taxpayers to act promptly:

“Completing your tax return may not be the most exciting task, but filing and paying on time is essential to avoid penalties or interest charges. The easiest way to do this is via our online services on GOV.UK.”

Support for Taxpayers
Around 97% of taxpayers now file online, benefiting from features such as saving progress and returning later to complete their submissions. Payments can also be made securely through the HMRC app, which includes reminders for deadlines.

For those struggling to meet the deadline, HMRC advises contacting them before January 31 to discuss reasonable excuses.

Who Needs to File a Tax Return?
Taxpayers must complete a Self Assessment if they:

• Are newly self-employed and earned over £1,000.
• Earned below £1,000 but wish to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions.
• Became a partner in a business partnership.
• Received untaxed income exceeding £2,500.
• Receive Child Benefit and must pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge due to earnings above £50,000.

Beware of Scams
HMRC warns taxpayers to remain vigilant against fraud. Criminals often use emails, texts, or calls to steal personal and financial information. Taxpayers can verify suspicious communications by searching “HMRC tax scams” on GOV.UK.

For more information, resources, and step-by-step guidance, visit GOV.UK or watch HMRC’s tutorials on YouTube.