AN IMPASSIONED personal address by Pembroke Dock Central councillor Paul Dowson helped sway Planning Committee members away from backing the creation of a tanker park on Criterion Way, Pembroke Dock.

Councillor Dowson put aside recent controversies to make a cogent and compelling case for rejecting the application, which was supported by the Council’s Planning Department.

Paul Dowson drew attention to the proposed tanker park’s location near a local picnic area and the likely effect of increased traffic to and from the site on Pembroke Dock’s creaking and congested roads.

He observed that the County Council had an unfortunate track record of dumping developments nowhere else in Pembrokeshire wanted onto Pembroke Dock.

He went on to suggest that if there was a development that would create a smell or a public nuisance, it usually ended up in the Town.

Referring jokily to a remark made earlier by Cllr Mark Carter, he suggested that the site’s development would be like storing explosives to break into cashpoints near the town centre.

He found backing from his fellow Pembroke Dock county councillors, Brian Hall and Tony Wilcox.

Speaking with the benefit of forty years in the garage business, Cllr Hall pointed out the proposed tanker park’s closeness to a massive fuel tank at the nearby Asda petrol station, a large tyre business immediate adjacent to the location, a garage nearby, and two supermarkets within fifty yards of it.

Brian Hall said the risk of catastrophic damage to the area in the event of a fire was such that he could not support the proposal.

He insisted that only someone unfamiliar with Pembroke Dock and its huge traffic problems could possibly think locating the site on Criterion Way was a good idea.

As it was impossible for those councillors on the Committee from rural wards, he said that the Committee should come and see the location for itself and assess its suitability for the development proposed.

He also said there was an alternative location, on land already owned by the Port Authority, outside the town at Kingswood.

Cllr Tony Wilcox remarked that he had heard enough to justify rejecting the application without a site visit.

He pointed out that there was more risk from empty tankers full of fumes than there was from full tankers; a provision that formed a key part of the proposals.

He added that on a still day in Pembroke Dock, the smell of nearby refineries and industrial activity pervaded the town.

Cllr George Manning of Pembroke Dock Town Council said the Town’s own Planning Committee was unanimously opposed to the development.

He said that Pembroke Dock’s roads were already struggling to cope with traffic to and from the Port and that, with developments planned for the Royal Dockyard, that traffic would only increase.

There was, Cllr Manning said, a risk of loss of an existing amenity, saying that nobody would choose to go for a stroll or a picnic so near to a truck park.

There would be no economic benefit to the Town. He reminded members that the land nearby was earmarked for leisure and housing development, including the much talked about marina project.
Under questioning from Cllr Mark Carter, the developer’s agent confirmed that the development would create no new jobs for Pembroke Dock.

He added, however, that the scheme would reduce the transit time for deliveries and the number of miles tankers travelled.

Responding to the councillors’ concerns regarding safety, Head of Planning David Popplewell said that potential safety concerns were not a matter for the Planning Committee.

Those issues, he said, were separate considerations with a different set of statutory considerations by other agencies.
Councillors noted that the proposed development also took place in a Conservation Area and questioned the absence of an NRW report on its environmental impact.

David Popplewell explained that no NRW report had been received by the local authority and that there was no indication of when it might arrive.

Councillors remarked that it seemed odd to recommend the scheme’s approval absent an environmental assessment.
Mr Popplewell said that if responsibility for final approval was delegated to officers, the NRW report would be considered at that stage.

He added that even if Planning Committee members were minded to reject the application, the NRW report would still need to come back before them before they reached a final decision.

Committee members decided to go on a site visit to the area before their next meeting in September, at which point they expected the NRW report to be available.