News

Council commissions report into flooding at Lower Priory and Havens Head

Published

5 years ago

January 9, 2020

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is to spend £40,000 on a feasibility study investigating alleviating the risk of flooding at Lower Priory and Havens Head in Milford Haven.

The local authority has included the cost in its capital budget for consideration at Monday’s (Jan 13) Cabinet meeting.

The £40,000 cost of the feasibility study will be met through a £38,000 grant from the Welsh Government. The Council will contribute £2,000 towards the study, although the report accompanying the budget notes that funding may be secured from alternative sources.

Lower Priory and Havens Head were both subject to flooding in November 2018.

The flood at Lower Priory was catastrophic, causing damage to properties and inundating the Priory pub, causing its closure for many months.

Residents of Lower Priory pointed the finger at the massive amount of infill work on land leading from watercourses passing through the area towards Havens Head and the docks beyond. They also claimed failures of maintenance had blocked the trash screens on culverts.

Stephen Crabb MP visited flooded resident last year (Pic: Herald)

Natural Resources Wales observed at the time: ‘The area affected contains two smaller watercourses that flow through a small valley through a culvert under a road/railway and into Milford Haven marina. The bottoms of the valleys are always wet and one has also been partially impounded to form a lake, which means the area can become tide-locked during high tides.
‘That coupled with the rain meant lots of water coming down the valley and lots coming in via the tide’.

While maintenance of the two minor watercourses is the responsibility of the County Council, once the watercourses pass on to land owned by Milford Haven Port Authority, responsibility passes to it to ensure its culverts are maintained and trash screens kept clear.

The Council does not have any powers to make landowners amend existing culverts to increase their capacity.

New developments have to comply with specific planning guidance from the Welsh Government. That guidance means surface water from an impermeable area created by a development (ie at Haven Head) must be dealt with through sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) which allow water to seep out via soakaways.
That standard has applied to all new developments for several years now.

The current situation, in which a large area of land is concreted over at the end of a watercourse, would no longer be permitted.

Following the flooding in November 2018, both the Port Authority and the Council tried to blame each other for the flooding.

A large amount of work subsequently took place to clear the areas around the affected culverts, including the removal of a significant amount of fallen trees and other vegetable debris.
In June last year, the Port Authority claimed that it was not liable for the flood damage and said the major factor in the flooding was a large increase in levels of silt in the lakes at Havens Head and Lower Priory combined with high tides and unprecedentedly levels of rainfall.

Emotional moment: Ian Bannister from Lower Priory clearly upset by the damage caused in 2019 flood (Pic: Herald)

However, under questioning before a Council Committee, a Port Authority representative conceded its electronic flood warning system had been a casualty of the flooding and had stopped recording the water volumes at Lower Priory well before the peak of the inundation.

Information about how much infill was used around the watercourses is unavailable.

A recommendation in a report by contractors Atkins, who proceeded only based on information provided by the Port Authority, recommended the culverts should be increased to handle three times the volume of water they dealt with currently.

News

Henry Tufnell MP welcomes action to protect households from poor insulation

Published

6 mins ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

HENRY TUFNELL MP has welcomed new government measures to address poor-quality insulation and energy efficiency installations under schemes such as ECO4.

The announcement introduces stronger consumer protections, following Henry’s consistent advocacy on behalf of his constituents and his recent interventions in the House of Commons.

The government’s measures include:

Stricter enforcement against non-compliant installers.
Enhanced support for homeowners to resolve complaints.
Mandatory compliance with TrustMark standards for all work under these schemes, ensuring adherence to the highest levels of quality through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
A strengthened complaints process via TrustMark to safeguard households and improve accountability.

Henry Tufnell MP has been a vocal advocate for addressing substandard insulation. Last month, he submitted two written parliamentary questions to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, highlighting constituents’ concerns and urging greater oversight.

Today, speaking in the House of Commons, Henry reiterated the importance of robust regulation, stating:

“I am so pleased that our new Labour government is taking immediate action on this issue. No one should have to deal with substandard installations or bear the cost of shoddy workmanship. I will work closely with the government to ensure that these measures deliver real change for affected households.”

Henry urged constituents experiencing issues with recent installations to visit the TrustMark website for guidance on lodging complaints: www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/support/complaints-process.

News

Derelict property fire in Marine Gardens ‘was most likely arson’

Published

21 mins ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

FIREFIGHTERS from Milford Haven were called to a fire at a derelict property in Marine Gardens, Milford Haven, on Tuesday evening (Jan 21).

The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service received the call at 8:34pm, reporting smoke issuing from the chimney of the property, which measured approximately 10 metres by 7 metres.

Firefighters accessed the building using small tools and located the fire in a first-floor bedroom.

The blaze was extinguished using a knapsack sprayer and thermal imaging camera.

The crew left the scene at 9:48pm.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been deliberate.

A spokesperson for the fire brigade said: “Arson is a serious crime that can cause significant damage, endanger lives, and place additional pressure on emergency services.”

Community

Landfill odour sparks calls for inquiry and legal action

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

RESIDENTS near Withyhedge landfill in Haverfordwest are demanding a public inquiry and considering legal action after foul odours returned just weeks after the site reopened on 6 January.

The landfill, closed last May to address odour issues, was declared fit to reopen by operator RML, which claimed its improvements would protect nearby communities. However, Colin Barnett, of campaign group Stop the Stink, said: “People in Crundale, Haverfordwest, and Spittal are being subjected to horrendous smells again.”

Describing the site as a “stink bomb on steroids,” Barnett supported Conservative MS Paul Davies’ calls for a public inquiry. “We’ve been flanneled by NRW, public health, and Pembrokeshire council. It’s disgraceful,” he said, adding that delays in resolving the issue had left litigation as the only option.

RML, part of Dauson Environmental Group, is owned by businessman David Neal, who has previous convictions for environmental crimes in 2013 and 2017. Last year, another of Neal’s companies pleaded guilty to environmental offences.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) reported receiving 34 complaints since 6 January, with a rise in recent days coinciding with the end of a slurry-spreading ban. However, NRW stated no odours attributable to the landfill were detected and plans to inspect the site with Pembrokeshire council on 29 January.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “I’ll keep a very close eye on this, and if concerns persist, we’ll discuss further steps with NRW.”

RML and the Welsh Government declined to comment.