Summit brings together UK, Irish and Crown Dependency leaders in Cardiff

CARDIFF hosted senior political leaders from across the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies on Friday (Dec 5), as First Minister Eluned Morgan welcomed delegates to the latest meeting of the British-Irish Council – with a focus on unlocking the potential of the creative industries.

The First Minister chaired the summit, which was attended by a wide group of political leaders, including the Chief Ministers of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man; Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly; Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin; Tánaiste Simon Harris; Irish Ministers Helen McEntee and Darren Jones; Scottish First Minister John Swinney; and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Also present were Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales; and the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Rebecca Evans, alongside Culture Minister Jack Sargeant.

This is the second major international-facing event hosted by the First Minister this week, following Monday’s Wales Investment Summit, which attracted more than 300 business leaders from across the globe.

Speaking after the meeting, First Minister Eluned Morgan said the gathering highlighted Wales’s growing reputation as a creative powerhouse.

“Today’s summit was a great opportunity to welcome friends to Wales to celebrate our vibrant and dynamic creative industries. Our creative industries enrich our lives in so many ways – providing enjoyment and memories,” she said.

“The sector is also a cornerstone of our economy – the sectors supported by Creative Wales have over 3,500 businesses, employing 35,000 people with an annual turnover of £1.5bn.”

Cabinet Secretary for Culture Jack Sargeant said Welsh creativity continues to make an impact well beyond the nation’s borders.

“From film and television to gaming, music, publishing and immersive technologies, Welsh creativity is making waves globally,” he said.

“Our creative sectors are a huge success story. Just this week we announced £2m for Bad Wolf to produce two new TV productions that will bring £30m to the Welsh economy. That takes our production investment to £33.8m in 70 projects, generating £419.7m since Creative Wales was launched in 2020.”

The Herald understands the Welsh Government intends to continue using the British-Irish Council as a platform to promote Wales’s cultural output, economic potential and creative expertise on the international stage.

MS seeks evidence as Pembrokeshire businesses report dramatic jumps

LOCAL businesses across Pembrokeshire are reporting unprecedented increases in their rateable values, with some facing rises of up to four hundred per cent. In response, local Member of the Senedd and Shadow Economy Minister Samuel Kurtz has launched an investigation to gather evidence, testimonies and real-world impact statements from those affected.

The 2025 revaluation of non-domestic properties in Wales — carried out to reflect current open-market rental values — has resulted in steep jumps for a significant number of premises. While some adjustments have been modest, a growing number of firms say their valuations have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled, raising concerns about job losses, cancelled investment and long-term viability.

Kurtz is now urging any business experiencing sharp increases to come forward. His investigation will compile previous and current rateable values, together with any impact on staffing, investment plans and future operations. He has already spoken with business owners at a recent advice surgery in Pembroke Dock and intends to hold a wider business roundtable in the coming weeks.

“No business should be punished for a revaluation they had no control over,” said Kurtz. “If rateable values have soared — in some cases by 300–400 per cent — I want to hear from those affected. Their stories must be heard. I’ll take this evidence straight to the Senedd and fight for fairer business rates.

“At a time when businesses are already feeling squeezed by rising costs, this new bill threatens not only the survival of our high street retailers, it affects all those operating in leisure and hospitality, industrial workshops and tourism.”

Kurtz said he had recently spoken to a hospitality business owner now facing an additional £8,000 a month. “The pressure and stress of this latest rate hike is huge for those affected, and I fear this may be the final straw for many. I want to do all I can to help fight alongside those businesses,” he added.

Businesses wishing to share their experience can contact the campaign at www.samuelkurtz.com/campaigns/business-owners

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A PEMBROKESHIRE farmer “jumped the gun” in his enthusiasm to build a new cattle shed which includes ‘robot slurry scrapers’ that have been causing a noise nuisance for neighbours, county planners heard.

In a retrospective application recommended for approval at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Aled Jenkins sought permission for a replacement cattle housing and silage clamp at Upper Ty Rhos, Wolfscastle.

An officer report said Upper Ty Rhos consists of a herd of 630 youngstock beef cattle, the applicant seeking permission for the replacement 100-metre-long cattle housing building.

It said the building benefits from a robotic scraping system to internally clean it to improve animal welfare and efficiency.

However, the slurry scraper system in operation has been found to constitute a statutory noise nuisance.

“The introduction of the slurry scraper system has resulted in a new noise source to the locality that is having a significant detrimental impact upon local amenity.  The nuisance noise is directly associated with the extended hours of operation of the slurry scraper system and the noise created by the two motors powering the system including the drive mechanism that moves the scraper through the building to remove slurry produced by the housed cattle.

“To further exacerbate the situation, the building has open voids to the eastern gable end, which is within close proximity to the neighbouring property resulting in the building being acoustically weak.

“An acoustic report has been submitted with mitigation methods provided including relocating motors and associated equipment into external enclosures, reduction of noise egress through openings by installing hit-and-miss louvres and/or PVC strip curtains and consideration of blocking the gap between roof pitches along the ridge of the building.”

Three letters of concern were received from members of the public raising concerns including visual and environmental impact, noise issues and a potential for the herd size to increase.

Speaking at the meeting, neighbour Dr Andrew Williams, who stressed he was not seeking to have the shed removed, raised concerns about the noise from the ‘robot scrapers,’ exacerbated by cattle being concentrated in the immediate area from the wider farm complex.

Agent Wyn Harries addressed concerns about the retrospective nature was a result of over-enthusiasm by his client who “jumped the gun”.

He said there was now a scheme that was “fully worked through,” dealing with noise and other issues.

Members backed approval, which includes noise mitigation to address the impact of the robot scrapers; one member, Cllr Tony Wilcox, abstaining on the grounds of the retrospective native of the building “the size of a football field”.