A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to join other west Wales authorities in calling for its pension funds to be divested from companies profiting from genocide is to be heard by full council.

Recently, a call for Ceredigion County Council to stress it does not wish to be involved in companies connected with Israel during the ongoing Gaza crisis through its pension fund was backed by councillors.

A notice of motion before Ceredigion County Council’s October meeting, proposed by Cllr Endaf Edwards, said: “The ongoing and deeply concerning conflict in Gaza has led to significant loss of innocent life and widespread humanitarian suffering.

“Despite a temporary ceasefire in January 2025, hostilities have resumed, and conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.”

Its calls included: a commitment to ethical governance and global justice; to express it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in war crimes or human rights violations; to write to the Welsh Pension Partnership, conveying these concerns and requesting a review of current investments; to request that the Dyfed Pension Fund and Welsh Pension Partnership strengthen their ethical investment policies; and to call on the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee and Welsh Pension Partnership to regularly review and publicly report on progress toward divestment from unethical holdings.

Following that, a petition was submitted on Pembrokeshire County Council’s own website, making a similar call.

The Pembrokeshire petition, started by Sarah Davies of Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire, read: “We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to pass a resolution calling on Dyfed Pension Fund to divest our pension money from companies profiting from genocide.

“As residents of Pembrokeshire, we are deeply concerned that the Dyfed Pension Fund (DPF) invests millions of pension fund money in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, occupation, and apartheid against Palestinians. In addition, DPF uses the multinational asset management firm BlackRock to manage 40 per cent (£1.4 billion) of its total assets. BlackRock has been cited in a recent UN report as profiting from genocide.

“Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and other Welsh councils have already committed to divestment. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to use its influence to urge Dyfed Pension Fund to divest from these companies.”

The recently closed e-Petition attracted 560 signatures.

If a petition gets 500 signatures, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a future full council meeting.

PLANS to expand the facilities offered by a Pembrokeshire seaside town pub, which was once a toyshop, have been submitted to the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, The Old Town Crier Pub Ltd, through agent Argent Architects, seeks permission for the installation of a retractable canopy to The Town Crier Pub, 3-4 Upper Frog Street, Tenby’s rear courtyard.

A supporting statement says the scheme for the pub, in Tenby town centre, with a rear boundary on the town’s Grade-I-listed 13th century town wall, “makes a positive contribution to the site, adding an elegant structure, which remains sensitive to the host building and the historic town wall”.

It adds: “The solution is practical and efficient and will enhance the enjoyment of the site.”

A heritage statement accompanying the application says the walls date to the 13th century, replacing earlier wood and earth fortifications, with “significant raising and thickening ordered by Jasper Tudor in 1457 and repairs in 1588 (due to the threat of the Spanish Armada),” visible in the masonry. Different building techniques and materials for different eras can be observed in the wall’s structure.

It says they “were initially built in the 13th century by the Earls of Pembroke, likely in response to the town being sacked by the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1260”.

The application adds: “The proposals are limited to the private realm of the premises’ courtyard, and do not touch the town wall.  The experience of the town wall from the public realm will remain unchanged.  There is no perceived impact on the historic town wall arising from the proposals.”

The application will be considered by park planners at a later date.

The pub opened in July 2024 and since then, Tripadviser reviews have thanked the business for serving a range of drinks, being dog-friendly and having helpful staff.

The Upper Frog Street site of the Town Crier was formerly the Clarice Toys toy and novelty shop, and is called the Town Crier in tribute to the late John ‘Yobbler’ Thomas, a former proprietor of the shop and a former town crier of Tenby.

John Thomas served as Tenby’s town crier for more than 30 years, and was responsible for bringing four national crier contests to Tenby.

John and wife Caroline, who would become a councillor and serve as mayor in the town, set up Clarice Toys in Tenby’s Upper Frog Street after their marriage in 1961, with the business being later run by their son and daughter, Ian and Kerri.

PLANS for an adventure tourism hub in north Pembrokeshire, ruled by a high court judge to have been granted unlawfully following a legal challenge, expected to be reheard this year, have now been withdrawn.

Back in 2024, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee approved an application by Adventure Beyond Ltd for an outdoor adventure centre, and associated works at The Old Bus Depot, Moylegrove.

The application had been before multiple meetings of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee; the plot originally used as a bus depot by the founder of the Richards Bros bus company.

Concerns were raised about the scheme, including by local community council Nevern, and opponents feared that increased business for adventure firms will worsen the plight of birds and animals including seals.

Following that approval, a high court challenge was brought by Wild Justice, who claimed the scheme would see nesting birds and breeding seals disturbed by ‘noisy’ coasteers.

But Jet Moore, of Adventure Beyond, insisted that the company had been ‘key’ in developing codes of conduct to ensure wildlife safety.

In September Hon Mr Justice Eyre ruled the National Park Authority’s decision was unlawful as a position statement and 2024 survey of breeding birds published by Natural Resources Wales had not been made available beforehand.

The judge also agreed that the management committee had not been properly informed about the impact of the development on the Aberath-Carreg Wylan SSSI, including the potential for coasteering activities to disturb the chough, for which the SSSI is designated.

On that basis planning permission was quashed and the application will need to be re-determined if the development is to go ahead.

Ceibwr Bay forms part of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC, the West Wales Marine SAC and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is home to nesting razorbill, guillemot, fulmar, herring gull, chough and kestrel.

Nearby sea caves are recognised pupping areas for grey seals and otters frequent the bay.

Wild Justice argued that an adventure centre would increase recreational activity, such as coasteering and kayaking.

Giving his reaction, Mr Moore claimed objectors had ‘caused more disturbance [to nesting birds] than we ever have’.

At the October meeting of the national park’s development management committee, members heard resubmitted plans were expected.

The national park has now confirmed the resubmitted application has now been withdrawn by the applicant.

“As a result of this withdrawal, the Authority will take no further action on the application, and it will not proceed to determination. The case file will be updated accordingly, and the application will not be considered by the Development Management Committee.

“The applicant has indicated that they may choose to submit a new or alternative application for the site in the future, which would incorporate the existing building.

“Any such submission would be treated as a separate application and would be processed in the normal way. If a new application is received, relevant parties will be notified and given the opportunity to comment.”