News
Council Tax premium on empty homes due shortly
A COUNCIL Tax premium on long-term empty properties in Pembrokeshire is to be introduced from 1 April.
The move comes two years after the County Council began levying a 50 per cent Council Tax premium on the County’s 4,000 second homes.
Pembrokeshire County Council believes the introduction of the two premiums will help increase the supply of housing.
The Authority decided in 2017 that a recommendation from a working party to levy a 25 per cent premium – in addition to the normal Council Tax rate – on properties unoccupied and unfurnished since 1 April, 2016, would come into force this year.
In succeeding years the premium will rise as the time the property has been empty increases so that by April, 2021, it will be 100 percent on properties empty for five years or more.
The Council estimates there are over 1,000 long-term empty properties in the County, some of which have remained empty for up to 10 years. Of these, 670 have been empty for between one and three years.
The Authority’s Cabinet Member for Finance, Bob Kilmister, said that property owners had been allowed a reasonable amount of time between the Council’s decision and its implementation in order to allow for the refurbishment of empty properties prior to occupation or to let or sell.
“Although the new premium will bring in extra revenue, this is not the overriding objective” Councillor Kilmister stressed.
“Indeed the monies will be ring-fenced for affordable housing and the Enhancing Pembrokeshire grant scheme which funds community projects.
“The aim is to revitalise communities by increasing the supply of housing.”
He went on: “We want to encourage owners to either sell or rent their properties and it is not designed to increase our revenues.
“Many of the properties concerned are empty residential units above retail premises.
“Increasing the number of residents living in town centres improves the chances of regeneration too but above all we want to increase the number of residential properties available for those in housing need.”
Crime
Former bishop jailed for child sex offences as police appeal for more victims
POLICE are appealing for further victim-survivors to come forward after a former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon was jailed for multiple child sex offences.
Anthony Pierce, 85, of Swansea Vale, pleaded guilty at Swansea Crown Court to five counts of indecent assault on a child under the age of 16.
He was sentenced to four years and one month in prison.
Pierce will be placed on the sex offenders register for life and will be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order on his release.

South Wales Police said that, since his sentencing, three further reports of offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s have been received and are now under investigation.
Detective Inspector Tom Richardson, of Swansea CID, said officers believed there may be other people who were subjected to Pierce’s offending.
He said: “We know how difficult it must be for anyone to have suffered abuse in the past to come forward now.
“It was the bravery of the victim who reported Pierce’s actions which was instrumental in bringing him to justice.
“Since the conviction and sentencing of Pierce we have received reports from three people who have taken that first step in coming forward.
“We believe that there may be others who have been subject to Pierce’s crimes and we want to provide reassurance that any reports will be fully investigated and dealt with sensitively and with compassion.
“We recognise that coming forward can be daunting but would encourage victim-survivors to speak with us so they can get the support and help they deserve.”
Anyone with information, or anyone who believes they may have been a victim, is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 quoting occurrence number 2600140999.
Support and information about reporting sexual offences is available through South Wales Police.
Crime
Jealous Milford Haven man smashed ex-partner’s phone and family photos
A MILFORD HAVEN man who smashed his girlfriend’s phone and damaged framed family photographs after wrongly accusing her of being unfaithful has been sentenced by Swansea Crown Court.
Adam Davies, 34, of Meyler Crescent, Milford Haven, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of criminal damage following a trial.
He had denied the offences and was cleared of intentional strangulation and assault by beating.
The court heard that Davies’ relationship with the complainant had begun to break down in June 2024, when he believed she was having an affair. The allegation was denied by the woman.
Recorder Simon Hughes, sentencing, said Davies confronted her at around 6:00pm on June 12 last year. During the argument, he threw her work mobile phone across the room, causing it to smash and creating significant inconvenience for her.
The following morning, at around 8:00am, Davies ripped down a curtain pole, damaging the wall behind it. He also picked up picture frames and threw them against a wall, causing them to break.
The court was told the couple later resumed their relationship, but it ended in September.
Matthew Murphy, mitigating, said Davies had no previous convictions.
Recorder Hughes told Davies he had been “arrogant and condescending” during the trial and said he continued to minimise the seriousness of his behaviour.
He added that the victim had been left considerably distressed by his conduct.
Davies was sentenced to a 12-month community order. He must complete 80 hours of unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
A five-year restraining order was also imposed, banning him from contacting his former partner.
Davies must also pay a statutory victim surcharge.
Crime
Former Haverfordwest pupil brought hammer onto hospital ward before killings
A FORMER Haverfordwest pupil who later killed three people in Nottingham brought a hammer onto a hospital ward two years before the attacks, an inquiry has heard.
Valdo Calocane is understood to have lived in Haverfordwest and attended Sir Thomas Picton School before going on to study at the University of Nottingham.
The public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks was told on Monday (May 11) that Calocane returned from leave to the Priory Hospital in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, with a hammer in his rucksack.
The West Wales link has previously emerged through a former housemate, who knew Calocane while he was in Pembrokeshire. She later contacted Nottinghamshire Police after the killings and said she believed he had a history of mental illness dating back to 2013.
She also said she believed he had worked as a cleaner at Pembrokeshire College.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Ajith Gurusinghe told the inquiry that Calocane claimed he had the hammer because he was moving into a new property and needed to hang items.
Counsel to the inquiry, Craig Carr, suggested the explanation was “completely implausible” because Calocane did not have a new home to move into.
Dr Gurusinghe said staff were sceptical and believed Calocane may still have been paranoid. He accepted the incident should have been recorded and included in Calocane’s risk assessment.
He said: “It’s been missed. I admit it’s been missed.”
Charge nurse Helen Foster also gave evidence, agreeing that the hammer was “clearly a potential weapon” and that the incident was serious. However, she said she could not remember how staff followed it up.
Calocane, who had earlier links to Haverfordwest before moving to Nottingham, went on to kill students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on June 13, 2023.
He then used Mr Coates’ stolen van to try to kill three pedestrians in Nottingham city centre.
The inquiry is examining the decisions made by mental health services before the attacks.
A Care Quality Commission inspection of the Priory Hospital in December 2021 later rated it “inadequate” overall and raised concerns about patient safety.
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