A CALL to change a mixed-use therapy centre to a children’s care home classification has been submitted to Pembrokeshire planners.

Skybound Therapies Ltd, through agent Carl Bentley Architectural Services, seeks permission for the change of use of the Skybound Care Farm & Therapy Centre, Campbell Farm, Wiston, near Haverfordwest.

A supporting statement says: “Situated in a discrete rural setting in Pembrokeshire, the Therapy Centre is at the heart of a family-owned Care Farm. It is a working beef and forestry farm, providing a unique and tranquil environment for their services,” adding: “Skybound Care Farm offers a variety of services for both children and young adults. From young adult day opportunities to week-long intensive programmes. The forestry fields provide an ideal setting for practicing walks. Visitors can interact with animals, learn about water safety near their ponds, and immerse themselves in the peaceful beauty of the working farm. Vegetable growing and harvesting is a recent addition to the Care Farm.

“Skybound welcome clients from the local area as well as those travelling from all over the UK and abroad. There is a variety of accommodation types close to the farm and centre, including a holiday village, caravan parks, holiday cottages and log cabins. Many clients like to combine visits to the care farm / therapy centre with exploring local beaches, amenities and attractions.

“The Care Farm HQ and Therapy Centre are in Southwest Wales, but they also cover many locations across the UK, including Cardiff, Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Yorkshire and Norfolk. Skybound are taking on new locations all of the time.”

It says the original Therapy Centre which was constructed in 2012/13 when it “began its journey as a leading national and international therapy centre providing behaviour analysis, positive behaviour support, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy for children and young adults with special needs and behavioural issues”.

In August 2022 planning permission was granted to extend the therapy centre, completed in 2024; the business currently employs 45 staff on a full time and part time basis, a small number of staff are located at the Care Farm & Therapy Centre and at other locations across Wales and the UK.

“Whilst the centre has been running since February 2024 the applicant and business has found that the use of the centre is changing from previously planned and consented usage,” the statement says.

It says that since then discussions have taken place with council planners to clarify the centre’s current planning use class, along with “other opportunities and ideas for the expansion of the business and services to potentially use other existing buildings at the site are currently being investigated, which will no doubt take further time to consider”.

“There is a long-term plan to expand the Care Farm & Therapy Centre activities within the whole of the site and this full planning application is the third stage of the plan. The long-term plan is to provide more ‘settings’ to provide more training, utilising more of the farm setting for example with further interactions with small farm animals and to perhaps house some therapy sessions within other existing farm buildings to provide different types of training settings.”

Late last year, the site was granted permission to extend staff facilities through a temporary building.

The current application will be considered by planners at a later date.

JOB vacancies in the UK have fallen to their lowest level in nearly four years, indicating weakening demand for workers amid rising employment costs.

The number of vacancies dropped to 781,000 in the first quarter of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). At the same time, the number of people on company payrolls fell by 78,000 in March, with figures for February also revised down.

While average pay continued to grow—up 5.9% over the year—analysts warn that recent increases in National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage, introduced this month, could put pressure on future wage growth.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The looming hike in employers’ taxes in April is very likely to have persuaded employers to hold back on hiring. Pausing recruitment is the simplest lever for businesses to pull when they want to slow things down. It’s far cheaper and less damaging than redundancies.”

Employment Minister Alison McGovern welcomed the continued rise in real wages, saying April’s changes would “boost people’s payslips and improve living standards.”

However, the UK employment rate for 16 to 64-year-olds remains at 75.1%, still below Labour’s target of 80%. The unemployment rate stood unchanged at 4.4%.

The ONS cautioned that its jobs data should be treated carefully due to low response rates to its labour market survey.

According to historical data, UK job vacancies had climbed steadily from 730,000 in early 2015 to a peak of 1.3 million in mid-2022. The latest figures mark the first time vacancies have fallen below pre-pandemic levels since mid-2021.

Despite strong wage growth, some economists believe the trend may not last. Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, warned: “The short-term impact of the rise in labour costs, which came into effect in April, will likely put downward pressure on pay in the coming months.”

Recruitment firm Manpower said wider market challenges are also having an impact. “We’re seeing much broader scale cutbacks than we’d previously anticipated, as higher costs coincide with Trump-led tariffs and British Steel negotiations,” said Anna Spaul, market intelligence director at ManpowerGroup. “It’s all adding to a greater sense of uncertainty for businesses.”

The Bank of England now faces a dilemma ahead of its May interest rate-setting meeting. Wage growth could delay cuts to interest rates, which currently stand at 4.5%. However, global tariffs and slowing employment may push the Bank to consider action to stimulate the economy.

A CALL to convert a former pigsty and a Pembrokeshire farm outbuilding into holiday lets providing accommodation “to meet the needs of the modern tourist” has been given the go-ahead by county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Mr and Mrs Morgan of Fenton Home Farm, near Crundale, Haverfordwest sought permission for farm diversification to create two additional holiday cottages, with four units already in operation, with a replacement pigsty and caravan.

A supporting statement through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd said: “The proposed additional holiday units are situated within a complex that currently has planning permission for four holiday units, namely Garden Cottage, Blueberry Cottage, Cowslip Cottage and Meadow View Cottage. The site is accessed off an existing track to Fenton Home Farm from the minor county road that runs between Crundale and Wiston.”

It added: “This is a full application to change the use of two stone barns to self-catering holiday units (partly in retrospect).  No extensions are proposed other than cosmetic improvements. The main house, Fenton Home Farm, has operated four holiday lets for many years, as well as long term lets. As such the proposal is intended to extend and complement the existing holiday letting business.”

The statement says the first unit proposed was” a simple stone barn /pigsty with corrugated metal roof,” now renovated to afford comfortable living spaces inside; the second unit a stone barn, currently open to the elements and without a roof.

“This application makes effective and efficient use of existing buildings that is no longer required for agricultural storage purposes.  Making use of existing building reduces the need for further development in the countryside to the benefit of the local environment.  The units will provide holiday accommodation to meet the needs of the modern tourist.  The social benefits of providing holiday accommodation for visitors to Pembrokeshire is combined with the economic advantages of supplementing the holiday business income from Fenton Home Farm.”

An officer report recommending approval said: “The additional two holiday lets would be seen in context with the farm complex and converted outbuildings and is therefore considered to be of a scale and nature compatible with the location in compliance with [policy].

It says the former pigsty building “would not result in any overlooking or loss of privacy to the occupants of the main farmhouse or the converted outbuildings,” and the second let “would not result in a detrimental impact on residential amenity,” and the scale and design of the building “would be in keeping with the character of the site and farm complex”.

The application was conditionally approved by county planners.