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Residents challenge Carmarthenshire Council on abolition of Special Landscapes

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RESIDENTS publicly challenged Carmarthenshire County Council’s radical plan to scrap Carmarthenshire’s 18 ‘Special Landscape Areas’ at the Monday’s Cabinet Meeting at County Hall.

Planning Lead Cllr Ann Davies was grilled about the Council’s plan to axe Carmarthenshire’s 18 special landscapes and changes to its policy on putting cables underground.

Carmarthenshire is well known and widely appreciated for its beautiful unspoilt countryside. So much so that Carmarthenshire County Council had formally designated 18 such areas in its Local Development Plan, including the Towy and Cothi Valleys. Thereby affording protection within the planning system from detrimental development.

Significantly, these designations have been successfully used by residents to stop pylons and windfarms. These have included the Llanllwni Mountain Windfarm in 2014 and the Brechfa Windfarm cables where they now cross the Towy Valley underground.

But these Special Landscape Areas – and the protection the designation carries – are now being swept away by the new Local Development Plan currently under consultation.

Residents are concerned that the new Local Development Plan ‘double downgrades’ Carmarthenshire’s landscapes. Not only does it strip residents of an important tool to object to destructive development, it also slashes the amount of potential compensation or mitigation available. Great for developers – not so good for residents. And a major blow to the local tourism economy, which is based on the county’s greatest asset: our special, historic landscapes.

Residents’ campaigner Havard Hughes commented: “Carmarthenshire County Council has been quick to talk tough on pylons. However, their actions on the local plan speak louder than these words and jeopardise our landscapes. By taking this risky approach to our landscapes they are putting our tourism economy and heritage in jeopardy.

Natural Resources Wales has blown the whistle on the Council’s plans by questioning the loss of the Special Landscape Areas such as the Towy Valley. Yet Carmarthenshire County Council seems unwilling or unable to produce the evidence base for abolishing the Special Landscapes designation.

Councils across Wales are coming under huge pressure from developers to give them more freedom to put up pylons, windfarms and solar arrays. We fear that this plan as it stands will strip residents of tried and tested protections. These protections are good enough for our neighbouring counties such as Ceredigion and Swansea so why not Carmarthenshire?

The Plaid Cymru administration’s new Local Development Plan is the most radical rewriting of our planning rules since the creation of Carmarthenshire County Council. We will now be challenging them under the Freedom of Information Act to uncover the evidence for these changes.”

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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