PLANS to convert a garden shed to a holiday let at a Pembrokeshire seaside village with the highest rates of second homes and holiday lets in the county have been turned down.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Shabnam Banihashem of 19a Wesley Road, Little Haven sought permission to convert a rear garden shed, already replace with a summerhouse, to holiday let accommodation.

Local community council The Havens had objected to the scheme, saying it has concerns over parking and highway access arrangements, and concerns about impact on Highway traffic safety-related matters.

The park’s building conservation officer had recommended the plans be refused despite it being a “relatively hidden and constricted site” with a likely low impact on the conservation area, saying there “is likely to be an impact on character due to extra traffic – and the potential for setting a worrying development”.

An officer report recommending refusal said: “The Authority has concerns in connection with the proposal due to the impact upon the residential amenity of the host dwelling, and its immediate neighbours, the impact upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area due to the potential for additional traffic, and due to the proposed summerhouse being unsuitable in terms of size for the use of holiday letting.

“Ordinarily, when a proposal would result in the creation of a single residential unit, a financial contribution towards the provision of off-site affordable housing would be required [in accordance with policy].

“However, in this particular case, the unit being proposed would not be suitable for long term residential use due to the limited size of the unit. As such, had the proposal been deemed acceptable, the Authority would have imposed a condition restricting the use of the unit to C6 – short term holiday let.

“Given that it would not have then been possible for the unit to benefit from current permitted development rights between C3, C5 and C6 uses, a commuted sum would not have been sought.

“Overall, it is considered that the proposed development would have an unacceptable impact upon residential amenity, and upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area.”

The application was refused on grounds including “introducing a significantly greater level of noise and disturbance than the current situation, to the detriment of the residential amenity of neighbouring properties,” and impact on the conservation area.

A previous national park report, based on the second homes council tax premium payable to Pembrokeshire County Council,  has said nearly two-thirds of properties in Little Haven are either second homes or holiday lets.

For the main centres of settlements within the national park, second home rates, at the time of the 2023 report,  were: Tenby 28.07 per cent, Saundersfoot 29.35 per cent, St Davids 20.86 per cent and Newport 30.6 per cent.

For smaller communities within the national park, some of the figures were even higher: Amroth 47.37 per cent, Broad Haven 36.58 per cent, Dale 39.47 per cent, Lawrenny 28.57 per cent, Marloes 29.66 per cent, Moylegrove 22.64 per cent, and Wisemans Bridge 35.71 per cent.

Topping the list, by a large margin, were: Nolton Haven 60 per cent, and 62.96 per cent Little Haven.

THE FELLING of more than 50 trees on Pembrokeshire’s Caldey Island following “recent extreme weather events” has recently been given an on-paper thumbs-up by the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, made through agent HW Forestry Ltd, Tim Hartley of Caldey Island sought backing for the felling of approximately 55 trees, with crown reduction or pollarding of approximately 11 trees and deadwood removal from four linear groups of trees.

The application partly affects the Grade-II-registered historic park and garden at Caldey Priory.

Trees for removal – the majority of which are Monterey pines – include many Ash which “continue to decline across the Island,” as well as storm-damaged trees.

An officer report says: “The key tree removals noted in the [supporting] report relate to works for health and safety matters arising from recent extreme weather events, that has resulted in the loss of significant sections of the individual crowns, as well as some of the trees having been structurally compromised through root plate movement or structural damage to stems and unions.

“There are also some trees that have outgrown their context in terms of location and also their form with asymmetrical unbalanced crowns. This combined with scattered trees having been damaged within the groups has resulted in the need for intervention.

“Unfortunately, some of the trees and groups are of a form with high, lateral crowns that cannot be pruned in a way that would retain amenity.  There are also works required for the pruning of trees on the island to remove dead branches and failed branches which does not require a conservation area notification.”

It concludes: “Overall, the works will have an impact on the setting of the conservation area, and there will be an impact on the amenity of the conservation area to some extent; however [a site visit and report] considers the works to appropriate in relation to health and safety, and the imposition of a TPO would not be a reasonable approach at this time.”

The national park ‘approval’ took the form of no objection being raised.

SENEDD members criticised Westminster’s “short-sighted, immoral and unethical” plans to slash spending on welfare by £4.8bn a year by the end of the decade.

Sioned Williams said she was extremely disappointed it took a motion to call an urgent debate to “force” Labour ministers to discuss the issue in the Senedd.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow social justice secretary raised the Bevan Foundation’s warning that the cuts will have a “huge and concerning” impact on 275,000 people in Wales.

Ms Williams described the reforms as the biggest cuts to disability benefits on record, with hundreds of thousands of people at risk of being pushed into poverty.

Calling for unambiguous condemnation from ministers in Cardiff Bay, she said: “The impact of these unprecedented cuts to disability benefits on Wales will be devastating.”

Leading the urgent debate on April 2, Ms Williams criticised first minister Eluned Morgan for “reserving her position” on the welfare reforms.

Altaf Hussain, the Conservatives’ shadow social justice secretary, stressed that welfare is not devolved to Wales, suggesting the debate will have little-to-no impact.

“This is not a UK Government known for listening to the Labour cliques in the Welsh Government,” he said. “Why should they pay any attention to what we say here today?”

Dr Hussain added: “Doing nothing is not an option, the bill for health and related benefits for people of working age is set to rise to £71bn a year by the end of the decade – far more than we spend on defending our nation.

Labour’s Hefin David, whose autistic daughter is in receipt of disability living allowance, told the Senedd: “I want her to be able to work. At the moment, I don’t know if she can … but she’s very creative and I would hope that the system will find, one day, a job for her.

“That is the role, I think, of the benefit system. At the moment … it is trapping people with autism, learning disabilities and other disabilities out of work and in poverty.”

The Caerphilly Senedd member voiced concerns about people with mental health conditions being stigmatised by some of the language in the UK Government’s green paper.

Dr David said he was willing to take Liz Kendall, the UK work and pensions secretary, at her word that the green paper is the beginning of the conversation – not the end.

Criticising “political pointscoring”, his Labour colleague Alun Davies pointed out that the Welsh Government backed the motion to hold the urgent debate.

He said: “I would have preferred the UK Government to make a clear statement that its purpose is the eradication of poverty, that it actively seeks a reduction in inequality.”

He added: “My fear at the moment is that this current UK Government is in danger of repeating the same mistakes as the Liberal Democrats in 2010 by accepting a conservative economic analysis then becoming the over-enthusiastic supporters of Tory austerity.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth argued Labour ministers have proved themselves “terribly ineffective” at influencing their UK colleagues.

He told the Senedd: “That’s reflected in the fact that no assessment has been made of the impact of the welfare cuts on Wales – it’s astonishing.”

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “We have been taken back to a time reminiscent of Conservative rule at Westminster, unleashing austerity … failing to consult with [the] Welsh Government and showing a carefree attitude to the impact of decisions on the people of Wales.”

Welsh Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds warned that disabled people face increased costs in their day-to-day lives as she criticised Labour for choosing not to tax the wealthiest.

Ms Dodds, the sole Lib Dem in the Senedd, said cutting benefits creates a false economy, raising concerns more people will be pushed into poverty and homelessness.

Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price accused Labour of choosing austerity over investment, warning: “The economic folly of these cuts is matched only by their moral bankruptcy.”

The former MP said the UK Government has unveiled a plan “so callous in its conception that it stands as nothing less than a betrayal of everything Labour once represented”.

Jane Hutt said the Welsh Government would carefully consider the impact of the proposed welfare cuts before responding to the UK Government’s consultation.

The social justice secretary pledged to ensure the voices of disabled people are heard in the Welsh Government’s response to the consultation which closes on June 13.