A CALL to amend plans for a new estate of 54 homes in a south Pembrokeshire seaside village to allow the first of them to be occupied unhindered by plant vehicles while works continue has been submitted.

Back in September 2023, the application for the estate, which includes a mix of 19 affordable properties, on land north of Whitlow, Saundersfoot, was approved by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park planners.

No objection to the plans was received by local community council Saundersfoot, other than concerns regarding the possibility of properties being sold as second homes, but several letters of objection were received, raising concerns including the potential for the new dwellings to become holiday lets, loss of privacy to neighbouring properties, loss of views, and the impact on existing property values.

The applicants are now seeking to amend two of the long string of conditions which accompanied approval to improve access for new home-owners while they build the estate by extending the time allowed for a construction vehicle access route, a condition of which was it would be ‘stopped up’ when the site reached a certain size.

The applicants say the proposed main access is now in place, and four detached dwelling are “at an advanced stage of construction,” and “It is anticipated that the first occupation on the site will take place in the forthcoming two months”.

The application adds: “Those new residents will of course be provided with uninterrupted access via the new estate road arrangements onto Narberth Road. The existing, northern access remains in place at this time and has served the scheme well in providing access for all construction vehicles,” adding: “The applicants wish to continue this arrangement, which will ensure that construction traffic and operatives do not have to use the newly formed main access and estate road, and thus potentially come into conflict with new residents on this first phase of development and also the next subsequent phase which will involve the construction of the affordable units on the site for the local registered social landlord.”

It stresses: “It should also be pointed out that the existing access will only be used by construction traffic, and at no time by new occupier traffic.”

The amendment will be considered by park planners at a later date.

THE EARLY stages of plans for a potential housing scheme at a Pembrokeshire military training camp, controversially used to house asylum seekers, have been submitted to the national park.

The camp, which has been in existence since 1860 as a military training facility, was prominent in the headlines between October 2020 and March 2021 when it became the controversial base for asylum seekers.

Amid protests from inside and outside its gates, the camp housed up to 250 asylum seekers at the height of its occupancy.

It came under fire from its residents and independent inspectors for its poor living conditions.

After the last of the asylum seekers departed, it was handed back to the MoD by the Home Office, who had previously repurposed it, the camp itself closed in late 2022, and was put up for sale the following year.

During the camp’s usage there were protests from both inside and outside the camp, with more than 200 people protesting at one stage against the plans and numerous arrests made.

The camp housed up to 250 men at any one time, and a 30-strong group of them took to the streets of Tenby in a march to show their unhappiness at what they said was their ‘prison-like’ environment.

At the time of that 2021 protest by the camp inhabitants, a spokesman for Stand Up to Racism West Wales said: “They have had enough of the poor food, bullying from security staff, cold huts, lack of medical care, blocked toilets, poor adherence to Covid regulations (some staff don’t bother to wear masks), lack of mental health support, but above all, being treated as prisoners rather than asylum seekers.

“Things must change.

“They need to be transferred to proper accommodation. Other camps in England are doing this.

“Why not Penally?”

Despite the-then Home Secretary Priti Patel maintaining that there had been consultation with ‘everybody’, a 2021 independent report stated that the Home Office did not consult in advance with local stakeholders – such as those who needed to set up healthcare for residents.

The inspectors were from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP).

Their report highlighted ‘filthy’ conditions in parts of the accommodation and residents feeling ‘depressed’, ‘hopeless’ and ‘trapped in poor conditions’.

An early stage ‘observations’ application, validated by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park planners, lists “Proposed residential redevelopment of the former Penally Training Camp,” the scheme listed as being received on January 7 and currently being processed.

The national park has been approached for further details about the scheme proposed.

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is currently preparing its new well-being objectives which detail how the Authority will make a difference in improving the well-being of local people and communities.

The well-being objectives are part of the draft Corporate Strategy and a consultation has been launched for members of the public to provide feedback.

The Council’s current Corporate Strategy was agreed in May 2023 and details 12 well-being objectives.

The Council is now proposing to reduce the number of well-being objectives to four in order to provide a sharper focus around key challenges and opportunities.

The draft well-being objectives are:

• Our Future – enabling the best start in life for our children and young people, equipping them with skills for the future
• Our Place – prosperous places, with clean, safe and sustainable environments, where people can live well and thrive
• Our Communities – caring for people, and enabling active, resourceful and connected communities
• Our Council – a financially sustainable, well-governed Council, with a workforce equipped to support the people we serve

Following consultation, the agreed well-being objectives will be the back-bone of the new Corporate Strategy 2025 – 2030.

You can view the objectives online Draft Corporate Strategy 2025-30 and what the Council will do to deliver these.  

You can give your views by completing the online response form.

For a paper copy please call 01437 764551 or email [email protected]  

The closing date is February 2^nd 2025.