A CALL for works at what is said to be one of the oldest independent museums in Wales has been approved by Pembrokeshire’s national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Rob Davies sought permission for the replacement of existing single-glazed timber sash to windows to south and east elevations with replica double glazed units at Grade-II-listed Tenby Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, Tenby.

A supporting statement said: “The museum building is in the former National School, built into a medieval domestic building, possibly the hall, depicted as roofless and gable ended in early views. The school was founded in 1832 and enlarged in 1842. The girl’s schoolroom was above, the boys below. It remained in use until the Parochial School was opened in 1874, and the building became the museum in 1878.

“A mural mosaic depicting the history of Tenby was located on the east elevation in 1991. The 1977 listing refers to two round chimneys to the rear, however, only one was located in 2001.  Two ranges exist, the original museum adapted from a medieval building used as the National School until 1874 and the former Museum Cottage to the west, now also part of the museum.”

Heritage service Cadw, in its response, lists the museum as “among the early museums in Wales,” while a Wikipedia entry says it is “the oldest independent museum in Wales”.

The application was supported by Tenby Town Council and Tenby Civic Society.

An officer report recommending approval said: “No adverse comments have been received from consultees towards the current proposal, and no third-party representations raising issues relating to listed building matters have been received.

“The proposed scheme is in keeping with the character of the listed building, and its setting in terms of design and form. As such, the application can be supported subject to conditions.”

THE LAUNCH of a public consultation on the potential closure of Pembrokeshire school Ysgol Clydau just before Christmas has been called “deeply concerning” and unfair to local families.

At the May meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, members backed a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which included statutory consultation on proposals to discontinue Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Ysgol Clydau in Tegryn.

A plea on behalf of Ysgol Clydau was previously made by Cllr Iwan Ward, local member, who said it was “the heart of our society not just a school, it’s family, a community, an anchor for children who deserve the opportunity to grow”.

He added that closure was “a disaster for the future of education locally” and was “not fair and was not moral”.

The Ysgol Clydau consultation has now been launched, on the eve of a plea to keep the school open being heard at County Hall.

A council statement accompanying the launch of the consultation says: “At its meeting on May 8, Pembrokeshire County Council considered a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which outlined the findings of a review of education provision in the Preseli area.

“In particular the review considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population.”

A petition, opposing closure of the school, on the council’s own website, generated 648 responses, meaning it crossed the threshold to be heard at full council.

That petition call, along with a similar one for Manorbier school, which also crossed the threshold, with 1,511 signatures, is to be heard by councillors at the December 12 meeting of full council.

The Ysgol Clydau petition states: “We demand that Pembrokeshire County Council reconsider its decision to close Ysgol Clydau and instead prioritise the needs of our community by keeping the school open. We oppose the closure of Ysgol Clydau and call for full public scrutiny before any decision is made.

“We urge you to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the community, listen to our concerns, and work with us to find alternative solutions that support the needs of our children and families.”

Paul Davies MS

Local Senedd Member Paul Davies has voiced his opposition to the proposal to close Ysgol Clydau, describing the timing of the consultation—just before Christmas—as “deeply concerning” and unfair to local families.

Mr Davies also highlighted the impact that closing Ysgol Clydau would have on the local community and the Welsh language.

“Ysgol Clydau is a crucial part of the local community, and its closure would have a huge impact on the local area. It’s unacceptable that this consultation has been launched without any discussion with local stakeholders and announcing it just before Christmas is very disappointing.

BEREAVED families have issued a powerful plea for a Wales Covid-19 inquiry, warning the UK-wide process is fundamentally incapable of properly scrutinising devolved decisions.

Sam Smith-Higgins, who co-leads the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group, told the Senedd’s public accounts committee on Wednesday December 10 that lessons learned from the national trauma must command public confidence.

“Families in Wales deserve more than high-level commentary,” she said. “We deserve a full explanation – one rooted in the Welsh context and accountable to the Welsh public.”

Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, who co-leads the group, said Wales must learn from the tragedy rather than seek to bury it, telling the committee a process designed for Westminster cannot uncover the “simple truth” of Welsh failures.

“We cannot patch over the gaps, we can’t pretend minimal scrutiny of devolved issues is enough,” she said. “Wales needs a Wales inquiry – not to score political points… but because thousands of lives were lost in circumstances that were avoidable.”

Ms Marsh-Rees said almost every major failing in Wales during the pandemic can be traced to a lack of preparedness.

She warned Welsh ministers had “no grip” on the risk, leaving the nation with no meaningful testing capability and a “dangerously inadequate” PPE stockpile when the virus arrived.

“When we talk about preparedness, we don’t mean abstract conversations about civil contingency structures – we mean something much more basic and concrete,” she said.

“Our hospital and care home estates were not fit to prevent transmission, with poor ventilation, limited isolation facilities and ageing buildings. Even vaccinations were compromised because of a failure to prep for the known requirement of cold storage.”

She added: “These aren’t minor administrative issues. They cost lives.”

The committee heard harrowing testimony that policy decisions treated older and vulnerable people as “expendable”, turning care homes into the “epicentre of tragedy”.

Ms Marsh-Rees criticised the decision to delay care home vaccinations for four critical weeks, against expert advice, and the discharge of Covid-positive patients back into care.

“In Wales many thousands of people were affected in the very places they expected to be safe: hospitals, care homes,” she said. “Our dads were two of these.”

The campaigners warned that nearly six years on, there is still “no meaningful improvement”, fuelling fears that the system remains vulnerable.

“Preparedness failed us once,” Ms Marsh-Rees said. “The greatest fear of our bereaved families is that it will fail Wales again.”

Ms Smith-Higgins warned the Senedd’s current approach – examining gaps in the UK inquiry – is not fit for purpose and will not work for Wales.

She said: “The UK inquiry leaves more gaps than substance when it comes to Wales… despite the enormous scale of the UK inquiry, Welsh issues have only been lightly touched.”

Ms Marsh-Rees said Wales entered the pandemic with almost no testing capacity, criticising Welsh ministers for suggesting “the science” did not support asymptomatic testing.

She told the committee: “We now know these statements were simply not true. The real reason was that Wales could not test – not that testing had no value.

“This misrepresentation must be scrutinised; if leaders will not acknowledge past mistakes, how can Wales hope to reform them?”

Ms Marsh-Rees told Senedd Members: “Without a Wales inquiry, these appalling failures and decisions will never be properly scrutinised.”

Ms Smith-Higgins explained that much of the evidence has already been gathered through the UK process as she warned of the consequences of no Wales-specific inquiry.

“Welsh ministerial decision-making will not receive meaningful examination,” she said, accusing Labour of failing to listen to the people by resisting an independent inquiry.

“The real reasons behind testing delays, PPE shortages and false public statements that were made will not be uncovered. The failures of infection, prevention and control in hospitals and care homes will not be addressed.

“The concerns about destroyed messages, missing records and a lack of candour will never be resolved. And, crucially, we will fail to understand why Wales had the highest mortality rate in the UK between August and December 2020.”

First Minister Eluned Morgan is expected to give evidence to the committee in January.