A HAND car wash scheme at a Pembrokeshire builders’ yard on the edge of the county town has been given the go-ahead by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire county council, Serkan Ustugul sought permission to use part of the builders’ yard/lorry park at Lower Dredgemans Hill, Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest as a car wash facility, along with an associated waiting area/store and drainage mitigation system.

A supporting statement through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd said: “The yard has historic use as a builder’s yard for some 80 years with the site being used by various vehicles on multiple occasions during the week. A number of small businesses lease portions of the land from the owner as builder’s yard, lorry park, and mechanic and storage areas, and they in turn generate traffic movements to access and egress the yard onto the main road.

“Being close to Merlins Bridge and Haverfordwest the proposed site for the car wash facility is in a sustainable location. The site is adjacent to the main railway line and to the north is a large complex of business units.”

Works were undertaken at the site back in 2019 when the entrance gates into the site and the flanking walls were removed to for access by Network Rail in order to carry out nearby bridge improvements on the adjoining railway network, with a later full planning application for the revised access for larger vehicles for those works granted.

The latest application said existing consents at the site allowed multiple uses, with the use of of a car-wash already allowed, adding: “however, the operational development requires planning permission.  This application proposes the use of part of the land at the existing builder’s yard to form a hand car wash facility, which is proposed to operate from 8.30am to 6pm seven days a week (including bank holidays).

“The detailed scheme comprises a one-way system with vehicular entry and exit off the existing access at Merlins Bridge which was widened and improved under [the previous consent].”

It finished: “The proposed hand car-wash facility will provide local employment opportunities and provide an important local service for its customers.  The scheme will not be visually intrusive due to the proposed location of the development as a whole, and the detailed layout of the site. The canopies and portacabin proposed are not over-sized and minimised visual clutter on the site.”

The application was conditionally approved by planning officers.

PLANS to convert a garden shed to a holiday let at a Pembrokeshire seaside village with the highest rates of second homes and holiday lets in the county have been turned down.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Shabnam Banihashem of 19a Wesley Road, Little Haven sought permission to convert a rear garden shed, already replace with a summerhouse, to holiday let accommodation.

Local community council The Havens had objected to the scheme, saying it has concerns over parking and highway access arrangements, and concerns about impact on Highway traffic safety-related matters.

The park’s building conservation officer had recommended the plans be refused despite it being a “relatively hidden and constricted site” with a likely low impact on the conservation area, saying there “is likely to be an impact on character due to extra traffic – and the potential for setting a worrying development”.

An officer report recommending refusal said: “The Authority has concerns in connection with the proposal due to the impact upon the residential amenity of the host dwelling, and its immediate neighbours, the impact upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area due to the potential for additional traffic, and due to the proposed summerhouse being unsuitable in terms of size for the use of holiday letting.

“Ordinarily, when a proposal would result in the creation of a single residential unit, a financial contribution towards the provision of off-site affordable housing would be required [in accordance with policy].

“However, in this particular case, the unit being proposed would not be suitable for long term residential use due to the limited size of the unit. As such, had the proposal been deemed acceptable, the Authority would have imposed a condition restricting the use of the unit to C6 – short term holiday let.

“Given that it would not have then been possible for the unit to benefit from current permitted development rights between C3, C5 and C6 uses, a commuted sum would not have been sought.

“Overall, it is considered that the proposed development would have an unacceptable impact upon residential amenity, and upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area.”

The application was refused on grounds including “introducing a significantly greater level of noise and disturbance than the current situation, to the detriment of the residential amenity of neighbouring properties,” and impact on the conservation area.

A previous national park report, based on the second homes council tax premium payable to Pembrokeshire County Council,  has said nearly two-thirds of properties in Little Haven are either second homes or holiday lets.

For the main centres of settlements within the national park, second home rates, at the time of the 2023 report,  were: Tenby 28.07 per cent, Saundersfoot 29.35 per cent, St Davids 20.86 per cent and Newport 30.6 per cent.

For smaller communities within the national park, some of the figures were even higher: Amroth 47.37 per cent, Broad Haven 36.58 per cent, Dale 39.47 per cent, Lawrenny 28.57 per cent, Marloes 29.66 per cent, Moylegrove 22.64 per cent, and Wisemans Bridge 35.71 per cent.

Topping the list, by a large margin, were: Nolton Haven 60 per cent, and 62.96 per cent Little Haven.

THE FELLING of more than 50 trees on Pembrokeshire’s Caldey Island following “recent extreme weather events” has recently been given an on-paper thumbs-up by the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, made through agent HW Forestry Ltd, Tim Hartley of Caldey Island sought backing for the felling of approximately 55 trees, with crown reduction or pollarding of approximately 11 trees and deadwood removal from four linear groups of trees.

The application partly affects the Grade-II-registered historic park and garden at Caldey Priory.

Trees for removal – the majority of which are Monterey pines – include many Ash which “continue to decline across the Island,” as well as storm-damaged trees.

An officer report says: “The key tree removals noted in the [supporting] report relate to works for health and safety matters arising from recent extreme weather events, that has resulted in the loss of significant sections of the individual crowns, as well as some of the trees having been structurally compromised through root plate movement or structural damage to stems and unions.

“There are also some trees that have outgrown their context in terms of location and also their form with asymmetrical unbalanced crowns. This combined with scattered trees having been damaged within the groups has resulted in the need for intervention.

“Unfortunately, some of the trees and groups are of a form with high, lateral crowns that cannot be pruned in a way that would retain amenity.  There are also works required for the pruning of trees on the island to remove dead branches and failed branches which does not require a conservation area notification.”

It concludes: “Overall, the works will have an impact on the setting of the conservation area, and there will be an impact on the amenity of the conservation area to some extent; however [a site visit and report] considers the works to appropriate in relation to health and safety, and the imposition of a TPO would not be a reasonable approach at this time.”

The national park ‘approval’ took the form of no objection being raised.