SENIOR councillors will consider a bid for Pembrokeshire to become the latest council to support the devolution of Crown Estate assets to Wales.

15 local authorities are currently backing calls for this economic asset to be placed in Welsh hands.

The latest to join the campaign are Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil (both on March 5), and Isle of Anglesey (March 6), bringing the total across Wales to 15.

The Crown Estate owns 65 per cent of Wales’ riverbeds and beaches, as well as more than 50,000 acres of land – valued at over £603m.

Proceeds from these go to the Crown Estate, funding the Royal Family and contributing to the UK Treasury.

Responsibility for the Crown Estate is already devolved to the Scottish Government, which has previously been reported as generating £103.6 million into the public coffers in Scotland in 2023.

A notice of motion submitted to the March 6 meeting by Plaid Cymru councillor Michael Williams said: “We ask PCC to support the proposal for the Crown Estate assets to be devolved to the people of Wales, so that profits can be used to invest in the economy and communities of Wales.

“A poll in 2023 showed that 75 per cent of the population were in favour of taking control of the assets of the Crown estate rather than the profits going to the Treasury and the Crown.

“Local Authorities are under huge financial pressure and placing the Crown Estate in the hands of Wales would be a significant step to address the lack of investment in our local government.

“We call upon the Welsh Government to ask Westminster to devolve the assets and revenue of the Crown Estates as a matter of urgency, as was done in Scotland in 2017.

“We demand that Wales is treated fairly and accepts management of the Crown Estate land for the benefit of the people of Wales.”

Members agreed the matter be referred to the council’s Cabinet for further consideration.

Earlier in that meeting, a submitted question by Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy on the subject was heard.

He asked: “Can PCC provide the annual income the Crown Estates derive from Pembrokeshire as the Crown Estates map indicate that the majority of the Pembrokeshire Coastline to include much of the Milford Haven waterway is owned by the Crown Estates?”

Responding to that question, Cabinet member for finance Cllr Joshua Beynon said the total amounted to £59,005, including £26,600 for foreshore lease agreements, £8,520 for the land around Haverfordwest’s Riverside Market, and £12,800 for a sailing centre and care park at Cosheston Pill near Pembroke Dock.

Late last year councillors in neighbouring Ceredigion backed a call for the Crown Estate assets to be devolved to the people of Wales, following a notice of motion by Cllr Catrin M S Davies, seconded by Cllr Alun Williams.

LOCALS BLAME TOURISM TAX FOR THEME PARK’S DEMISE

OAKWOOD THEME PARK, once arguably one of Pembrokeshire’s best tourist attractions, has closed its doors for good, leaving residents and business owners fearing for the future of Pembrokeshire’s tourism industry.

The popular amusement park, located near Narberth, shut permanently last Tuesday (Mar 4), with owners citing rising costs, including increases in national insurance, minimum wage, and energy prices. However, many in the community believe the looming introduction of a tourism tax by the Welsh Government played a key role in the decision.

The tax, expected to be introduced in 2027, would see visitors charged per night for staying in local accommodation, a move critics say could drive away holidaymakers and impact an industry already under pressure.

BUSINESSES FEAR WIDER IMPACT

Local business owner Kevin Hart, who has run a caravan park and restaurant near Oakwood for 18 years, says he is “dreading” the effect the closure will have.

“This is a hammer blow,” he told The Herald. “Most of the people who stay here spend at least a day at Oakwood. With it gone, I don’t know how we’ll recover. The tourism tax is just another kick in the teeth.”

Hart, who employs ten staff, says rising costs have already forced him to cut back. “We’re dealing with national insurance increases, energy bills through the roof, and now visitors will have to pay more just to come here? It’s madness.”

COMMUNITY FEARS LONG-TERM DAMAGE

Pembrokeshire residents have echoed Hart’s concerns, warning that the closure of Oakwood is just the beginning of a wider crisis in local tourism.

Jenny Evans, a resident of Haverfordwest, called the theme park’s closure “the tip of the iceberg.”

“We’re being taxed from every angle—higher energy prices, council tax hikes, and now this tourist levy. Pembrokeshire’s economy depends on visitors. If they stop coming, what’s left?”

POLITICAL REACTION

Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell described the closure as “devastating” and called for urgent support for staff who have lost their jobs.

“Oakwood has been an iconic part of Pembrokeshire’s visitor economy, creating employment and supporting local businesses. We now need to focus on what happens next for the site and those affected. The last thing we need is for it to sit empty for years.”

The Welsh Conservatives have warned that the proposed tourism tax could put thousands of jobs at risk, with the hospitality sector employing around 159,000 people in Wales—roughly 12% of the national workforce.

The Welsh Government insists the tax will help fund vital services in tourism hotspots, but opponents say it could be the final nail in the coffin for struggling businesses.

For now, Oakwood Theme Park stands empty—a stark reminder of the pressures facing Pembrokeshire’s tourism industry and the uncertain future ahead.

PREGNANT women in Wales should only be jailed if it is “unavoidable,” according to new sentencing guidance introduced by the Sentencing Council.

The changes, which come into effect on 1 April, also apply to mothers in England and those of children under one year old. The council’s move has been welcomed by campaigners who have long argued that prison is an unsafe and inappropriate environment for pregnant women and new mothers.

Official figures reveal that between April 2023 and March 2024, there were 215 pregnant women in prisons. During the same period, 53 babies were born to mothers in custody, with all but one of these births occurring in hospitals.

The new guidelines urge courts to “avoid the possibility of an offender navigating the risks associated with pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period in custody unless the imposition of a custodial sentence is unavoidable.” Pregnancy is now also listed as a factor that could justify suspending a sentence.

The Sentencing Council said the guidance includes “significant new areas,” including specific sections on sentencing young adult offenders, female offenders, mothers, and pregnant or postnatal offenders. Even for offences that usually carry a mandatory prison term, courts now have greater discretion to impose alternative sentences if the offender is pregnant or has a young baby.

Janey Starling, from the campaign group Level Up, described the changes as a “huge milestone” in the effort to stop pregnant women and mothers of infants being jailed. “This guidance is a landmark step forward in our campaign and paves the way for future sentencing reforms,” she said.

Concerns over the treatment of pregnant women in prison have grown following high-profile cases where babies have died in custody. Rianna Cleary and Louise Powell both gave birth without medical assistance at HMP Bronzefield in 2019 and HMP Styal in 2020, respectively. The Royal College of Midwives has previously stated that “prison is no place for pregnant women” and was among several organisations that called for a review of sentencing practices.

A number of countries, including Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, already have laws preventing the imprisonment of pregnant women.

Anna, a co-founder of the Level Up campaign who was pregnant while in prison, welcomed the new guidelines. “As someone who has lived through this experience, it gives me great hope that fewer women will have to go through what I did. This is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Campaign group No Births Behind Bars also hailed the guidelines as “a seismic change,” acknowledging the “deadly impact of prison on pregnant women and their babies.”

The Ministry of Justice has distanced itself from the independent Sentencing Council’s decision, but sources said the recently established Women’s Justice Board is working to reduce the number of vulnerable women being sent to prison.

However, another aspect of the new guidance has sparked controversy, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said to be “incandescent” over recommendations that judges should consider an offender’s ethnic background before sentencing. Magistrates and judges are now advised to seek a pre-sentence report for those from ethnic, cultural, or faith minorities.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick slammed the move, calling it “completely outrageous” and claiming it introduces a “two-tier approach to sentencing.”

Mahmood has written to the Sentencing Council urging it to reconsider. “As someone from an ethnic minority background myself, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law. There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch,” she said.