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Lower town council increases in council tax than county or police

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PEMBROKESHIRE’S main town councils are expected to make a lower percentage increase in the demands of taxpayers than either the county council or the police.

Pembrokeshire County Council is expected to increase council tax by 7.5 per cent for 2023-24, subject to full council support on March 2.

The 7.5 per cent increase proposed, subsidised in part by funds from the second homes council tax premium, was agreed by the county council’s Cabinet on February 14.

It had considered three council tax options for 2023-24, set against a funding gap of £18.6m: an increase of five per cent, seven-and-a-half per cent and 10 per cent.

Members backed the 7.5 per cent increase, which would increase the annual bill of the average Band D property by £62.46, to £1,311.63.

Dyfed-Powys Police recently announced a 7.75 per cent rise in its precept for 2023-24, which will raise the average band D property precept by £22.49 per year, to £312.65.

The third element of the overall council tax bill is the town/community council element, with Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Haverfordwest and Tenby all setting a lower percentage increase than either of the other elements.

All the larger town councils in the county have been contacted asking what their rate for the coming year is.

The precept for Milford Haven has been set for 2023/2024 at £178,596 an increase from last year of 2.95 per cent, representing a cost to a Band D property of £32.86.

Pembroke Dock Town Council – which did not have any breakdown of individual figures for Band D properties available – will raise its precept by 1.5 per cent; from £209,560 to £212,706.

Haverfordwest Town Council stated: “We have agreed our precept at £388,444.00 for the 2023-2024 financial year which equates to £78.75 per Band D household.

“The 2022-2023 precept was set at £370,000 which equated to £74.91 per Band D household.”

This represents an increase of just over the five per cent mark.

Tenby Town Council agreed to dip into reserves to keep its increase at the six per cent mark.

Tenby Town council had previously resolved “to look to an increase of the Band D equivalent of not more than six per cent,” adding: “This would mean an increase of the Band D equivalent from last year’s £69.95 to £74.15.”

Members had previously heard that would generate a precept of £225,143.12 leaving a shortfall of £25,778.24.

It was recommended, and backed, that the council accept the budget as proposed and consider utilising £25,778.24 of un-earmarked reserves to set the precept at £225,143.12.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

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A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

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News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

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THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old. 

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Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

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THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines docked at Pembroke Port last week, marking the start of physical deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on Wednesday 26th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today  (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.

The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived last week with the first components,” she said. “We are expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

The Weather conditions were favourable for the arrival of the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are expected to begin early next year, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.

Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

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