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Members ‘encouraged’ after Riverside purchase call-in

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MEMBERS of the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee have been reassured following the call in of a Cabinet members’ decision to look into the purchase of Haverfordwest Riverside.

A number of councillors had been concerned about the decision to appoint a consultant to develop and evaluate proposals for the site’s redevelopment because of the Council’s budgetary position.

Cabinet member for Economy and Tourism, Cllr Paul Miller, made his decision at the end of April as part of wider council plans to revitalise the Town of Haverfordwest.

However, on May 3, that decision was called in by Cllrs Jamie Adams, David Pugh, Brian Hall and Di Clements.

A special meeting of the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee was called for Tuesday, May 14.
During the meeting a number of points were raised but it was highlighted that the money for the consultants would not be coming out the tax payers money.

At this stage the Council would only be looking at whether or not they should purchase the site and are asking consultants to look into it.

Members were reassured by what they had heard and asked for an update at their September meeting.

Cllr Jamie Adams said that there needed to be some understanding of the desire of the people to see council tax money well spent and added that his worry was that they would be further burdening tax payers.

Cllr Miller said he was very concerned that the Pembrokeshire was becoming a disconnected retirement county but highlighted his strategy for improving the county.

He added that he wanted to get Pembrokeshire better connected in terms of broadband, ensuring that Pembrokeshire has an offer adding that although they were ‘well endowed’ with natural assets, it wasn’t enough ‘on its own’.

His third point was to make sure that the county is discovered and said: “Let’s appoint the right people to guide us through this.”

Cllr Bob Summons asked a number of questions including what due dilligence had been done.

Cllr Miller said some had already been done but added that the majority of it would come when the business case would be considered.

Cllr Summons said that town centres were dying because of online shopping and asked what could be done.

Cllr Miller outlined that the area being considered included Haverfordwest Castle, Bridge Street, the Ocky White building, the Riverside Shopping centre and that redeveloping the multi-storey car park was an area of interest.

He went on to say they would be relying on external consultants as they didn’t have the in-house resources to do so.

A report to the committee stated that finance officers had not been involved but when challenged, Council Leader David Simpson said that they had been involved in discussions over the last two years, just not on the specifics of the project.

Cllr Adams added that the meeting to discuss the concept had only happened on Monday, after the call-in, and asked was it a case of the ‘stable door being bolted after the horse is out’.

Cllr Bob Kilmister said a meeting had been scheduled but because he was away it was put back to Monday.

Cllr Adams asked if it had also been discussed at a meeting of the Strategic Asset Management group.

Cllr Paul Miller said it hadn’t but added that when the business case was made they would be involved.

Cllr Adams also asked about further investment in Bridge Street and Cllr Miller said there would be as part of the Castle project.

He went on to say that the Welsh Government were also involved in this and that they had been asking for all sorts of information.

Cllr Brian Hall warned the Cabinet to ‘be cautious’ or risk the situation coming back to bite them.

After hearing what had been said a number of members were reassured by what had gone on and Cllr David Pugh said he admired the Cabinet’s ambition.

Cllr Simon Hancock asked what the consequences would be if they did nothing adding that he was supportive of the Council trying to do the right thing.

Cllr Tony Wilcox added: “To not engage specialists would be remiss of us. We’ve got to at least go through this process.”

Cllr Tim Evans added he was ‘really encouraged’ by what he had heard and added the consultants would tell them whether this was right or wrong saying: “It’s something we’ve got to go through with.”

Members agreed that an update report should be presented to them at their September meeting.

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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