AN EXCITING new community space has opened in the Riverside Shopping Centre in Haverfordwest.

Based in the former Wimpy building, @No5 Riverside offers a community café, ‘Library of Things’ and employment support – all in one town centre location.

It follows a 6-month renovation project by Norman Industries as part of its supported employment programme, with funding from Welsh Government.

“The café will be a fantastic resource offering dedicated sessions to a wide range of community groups, including people with dementia or a learning disability, carers, and gentlemen’s groups,” said Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Services.

Known as ‘Caffi Cyfle’ (cyfle is the Welsh word for ‘opportunity’) the café is open 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday. It is fully inclusive – please ask how to book a quiet time or about suitable food options.

Karen Davies, Programme Manager, said the café menu has been designed by Pembrokeshire’s neuro diverse community.

“The simple hot menu is designed to provide meals suitable for people of all ages removing the food that is often left on the side of the plate,” she said. “The small plate option recognises that people with small appetites want to be able to buy an appropriately sized meal saving money and food waste.”

The café will also offer training and employment to people with barriers to employment including people with neurodiversity conditions.

“We know that the hospitality sector has challenges recruiting staff and yet there is a large pool of people who could work in this industry given the right training and support,” said Karen.

“People with impairment and difference make excellent employees with low levels of absence and high levels of commitment. We already run a café in Milford Haven run by people with learning disability. We want to show the sector how this can be achieved in a busy town centre café environment.”

The Library of Things offers people the opportunity to borrow items that they can’t afford or don’t want to buy.

People can borrow a wide range of things such as a gazebo, lawnmower, pressure washer, wheelbarrow, children’s games or fancy dress.

“Cllr Cris Tomos, Cabinet Member for the Environment said: “We all have items that we have bought for one job, which have then sat in our cupboards gather dust never to be used again.

“Now we have the opportunity to reduce the use of precious resources by borrowing the item rather than buying it for a fraction of the cost.

“The Library of Things is a fantastic opportunity for people in Pembrokeshire to contribute towards actions for the environment.”

The unit at No.5 Riverside stood empty for a number of years and took a significant investment to bring it back to life. Financial support was provided by a Circular Economy grant to support town centre regeneration from the Welsh Government.

Riverside Shopping Centre Manager Nigel Stroper said he was delighted to welcome @No5 to the Riverside Shopping Centre.

“I have been so impressed with the efforts of all concerned with this enterprise which brings real points of difference to both the shopping centre and town centre, the staff are so enthusiastic – they are a credit to the work done by Norman Industries,” he said.

“I am confident this is a great step forward in the regeneration work beginning in our lovely little town.”

Local County Councillor Tom Tudor said it was a great initiative. “This is an excellent facility and very much welcomed for the centre of town,” he said. ”We wish it every success.”

Also based @No5 are the staff from Employability Pembrokeshire. During the day, the upstairs space will be used as a drop in space so that people can meet with the mentors from a wide range of employment projects that support progress into work. The team at Employability Pembrokeshire can help with training, work experience and getting paid work. For people with a disability they can also help to assess and put in place support to ensure people have success in the work place.

To borrow an item from the Library of Things, please visit www.pembrokeshirecircle.org and follow the share link. Items can also be booked at the counter in @No5 where the fantastic team are available to help.

Are you thinking about throwing away something that still works or could be repaired? Why not donate the item to the library so that others can use it? Items are repaired, tested and made available to others reducing waste going to landfill. Items can be dropped off @No5 or at Norman Industries.

To contact the community café, Caffi Cyfle, please phone 01437 776609 or email normanindustries@pembrokeshire.gov.uk or message the Caffi Cyfle facebook page. The café is open from Mondays to Saturdays, 10am to 4pm.

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL says it is reminding people to think of the continuing risks from Covid variant when attending Christmas parties or other social gatherings this year.

Covid-19 has not gone away, and the emergence of the new Omicron variant is an added concern.

Although figures in Pembrokeshire have dropped slightly in the past few days, case numbers still remain in the higher half of the all-Wales table.

It is human nature to want to forget about Covid as the festive season approaches, especially following the disappointment when the tighter restrictions had to be brought in just before Christmas last year.

Christmas parties and other planned gatherings during this holiday season is one particular area people can take extra care when planning festive events and looking forward to the celebrations.

Please consider meeting in smaller group numbers than you might ordinarily, in a well ventilated location and try to avoid mixing with too many other people. Wear a well fitted face covering where required. Be extra careful if you have contact with any vulnerable person.

The take up of both the Covid vaccination booster, as well as the flu vaccine is as important as it’s ever been, now that we are seeing a new variant, so if you aren’t up to date with your vaccines and boosters we urge you to take up these offers.

Cllr David Simpson, Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, said: ‘It is vital that members of the community remember the simple things we can all do to give ourselves the best protection against Covid-19 and slow down the spread.

‘Continue to work from home where you can, take up vaccination including the booster when offered, keep your distance where possible and use face coverings where required.

‘The protective measures will help make a difference to keep us safe, so please maintain hand hygiene, meet outdoors when the weather allows and let fresh air in if you are meeting indoors. Together we can ensure this Christmas is better than last year’s.’

A COLLABORATIVE project involving St Davids Befriending Group and Pembrokeshire County Council has scooped the ‘Delivering Social Value’ award at the prestigious Ystadau Cymru awards for its Community Meals on Wheels (MoW) project.

Ystadau Cymru encourages excellence in active management of the Welsh public sector estate through strategic collaboration and good practice guidance.

The MoW project, which has been running since April, has provided people with a hot meal and helped the vulnerable in the community through the pandemic.

In total, the St Davids Befriending Group is made up of local individuals who work together on a voluntary basis in collaboration with Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi.

The Award was presented to the winners by Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans MS. The judging panel hailed the project for being an inspiration to bringing a collaborative effort to life and realising what can be done when the public sector and resilient communities come together.

A Meals on Wheels service was last operated in St. Davids in the late 1980’s when it was run by the Royal Voluntary Service.

And although Pembrokeshire County Council tried twice to re-establish this in the early 2000’s – it was without success.

But, come the autumn of 2020 the St. Davids Befrienders got together to try once more to restart the service. After an initial meeting held last January between the volunteering group and local authority staff, the service launched in April 2021 – and it has gone from strength-to-strength.

All the meals are cooked by the staff at the Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi canteen as it’s a suitable venue to mass-produce the food in a safe environment with trained staff.

The Head teacher was supportive of the concept as the school is at the heart of the community.

Cllr David Lloyd said: ‘I am honoured to be part of such an incredible team that time after time delivers a wonderful service to people in St Davids.

‘This is a true team effort from the St. Davids Befrienders to our friends at Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi school.

‘The delight on the people’s faces when the food arrives, or when someone knocks on the door just for a chat, is something to behold. As one of those who deliver the food I can’t express the excitement and pleasure on the faces when I knock on their door, it is absolutely moving.

‘It makes everything worthwhile and brings the community together in ways that sometimes can be slightly missed. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sarah Oliver at Pembrokeshire County Council, Ystadau Cymru for this marvellous award and Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi’s school for enabling the St. Davids Befrienders to provide the amazing Meals on Wheels service.’

Applications were encouraged to demonstrate how the projects achieved social value through collaboration with multiple partners – and this is exactly what the Meals on Wheels realised.

Cllr David Simpson, Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council added: ‘This is a hugely successful and significant project for the people of St David’s – and I’m delighted it has been celebrated in this way.

“The St David’s Meals on Wheels is a great example of collaboration between volunteers, stakeholders and the local school.

“It has breathed new life into a voluntary service that was lost decades ago. This is an incredible achievement.’

Since April, the MoW team have delivered meals, ensuring some of the most vulnerable in the community receive a hot, healthy and delicious meal. 

Chief Executive Will Bramble said: ‘This collaborative project, involving the public estate, has made a significant impact on the community they serve.

‘I am immensely proud that this partnership approach has enabled this Authority to help provide a Transformative way of working which benefits those who need it most.

‘This recognition is a symbol of what can be achieved when communities pull together, utilise local resources to solve problems – and more importantly, show they care.’