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New 20mph speed limit: Safety improvement or economic setback?

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STARTING September 17, the Welsh Government’s broad 20-mph speed restriction will replace the current 30-mph norm in urban areas. Designed to boost road safety, the decision is a double-edged sword, balancing between reduced casualties and potentially significant financial and operational ramifications.

Professor Stuart Cole, CBE, Emeritus Professor of Transport Economics and Policy, University of South Wales, has explained his several concerns, set out below, regards the new legislation.

Operational Challenges & Financial Strains

Bread’s morning delivery offers a window into potential hiccups. Timed for 30-mph speeds, reduced speed limits can lower van productivity, possibly raising prices for end consumers. Urban bus passengers, too, are bracing for longer commutes. The need for extra vehicles, more driver shifts, and anticipated increased hourly rates for drivers paint a challenging financial picture for bus companies.

The modern bus, optimized for speeds of 30-mph or 40-mph, now faces a disruptive 20-mph mandate. This shift could necessitate overriding automatic gearing systems, potentially undermining safety objectives and leading to higher maintenance expenses.

A Conservative Perspective

In the backdrop of these insights, Natasha Asghar MS, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, voiced her concerns. She remarked, “The observations by Professor Stuart Cole underscore a significant oversight by the Labour Government.

“For over a year, I’ve highlighted potential drawbacks — from slower emergency response times to increased delivery durations, and even the likelihood of bus route adjustments. As we near this policy’s roll-out, these unforeseen consequences, combined with a £4.5 billion expenditure by Labour, paints a worrying picture for the Welsh economy,” Natasha expressed.

Seeking Solutions

The 20-mph limit aims to tilt preference scales from cars to buses. To truly succeed, bus priority schemes on congested routes, like Cardiff’s Castle street and Swansea’s Kingsway, could be vital. But with electric buses demanding almost triple the price of conventional ones, financial challenges loom large.

In this scenario, bus companies, looking at a requisite profit margin of 10% on local tenders, are hesitant to invest significantly, especially with the fiscal support measures like the Welsh Government’s Bus Transition Fund set to end by March 2024.

Conclusion: Striking A Balance

With potential bus service reductions, especially in rural Wales, stagnant passenger numbers, and escalating costs, the bus sector faces a challenging trifecta.

While the Welsh Government’s intentions echo safety and environmental concerns, perhaps a staggered approach could have been more judicious. Considering a rollout in high-casualty zones, introducing supportive bus priority measures, and delaying the scheme’s onset until the bus industry finds firmer financial footing might have catered to all stakeholders more effectively.

Health

Baby loss remembrance service resumes at Withybush Hospital

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THE ANNUAL baby loss remembrance service will return on Thursday 12 October 2023 at St Luke’s Chapel in Withybush hospital in Haverfordwest at 7pm.

The ‘Forget Me Not’ service coincides with Baby Loss Awareness week (9-15 October) and is arranged by Midwifery and Bereavement teams and led by the Spiritual Care Department (Chaplaincy).

The service has long been a source of comfort for parents and families and provides an opportunity for people to reflect and to come together to pay respects and write a message in a safe space.

Euryl Howells, Senior Chaplain at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “This service of remembrance is an important moment for parents and families who have been affected by the very sad experience of babies who have passed away.

“Infant and pregnancy loss is a very lonely grief. This space is a time to gather and remember precious little ones whether the loss was recent or in the more distant past.”

In recognition of Baby Loss Awareness week, Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen and Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth will have pink and blue lights in the Chapel/Quiet Room. The week culminates in a ‘Wave of Light’ on 15 October, which is recognised across the world.

A candle (battery operated) will be lit at 7pm by the Senior Chaplain in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time.

If you are unable to attend the service and wish to commemorate your loved one, please send a message to [email protected] by Tuesday 10 October 2023

Should you require further information please contact Euryl Howells by telephone or email 01267 227563 or [email protected]

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Councillors elected to Haverfordwest Town Council

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The declaration of results for by-elections to two Haverfordwest Town Council Wards
are available on the Pembrokeshire County Council website.

The elections to the Priory and Portfield Wards took place on September 19 th , 2023.

Cllr Peter Lewis and Cllr Tasha Jones were elected to the Priory Ward and Cllr Roy
Thomas to the Portfield Ward.

Returning Officer Will Bramble made the declaration of results at the Picton Centre,
Haverfordwest, following the closure of polls and counting.

The full declarations are available on the election results page of the Council’s
website.

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The Broad Haven Triangle and beyond on ‘Encounters’

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PEMBROKESHIRE, because of the Broad Haven UFO sightings, has earned an enigmatic title: the “Bermuda Triangle” of the UK. Despite its modest size and population of under 1,000, Broad Haven was the focal point of one of the UK’s most extensive extraterrestrial sighting events back in the 1970’s. The village bore witness to around 450 unexplainable phenomena, from the appearance of a flying saucer near a guest house, a 7ft alien-like entity emerging from a hedge, to the mysterious “cigar-shaped” UFO spotted near a school.

It was 1977, a year overshadowed by the Cold War. However, in the world of entertainment, sci-fi movies like Star Wars and Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind were captivating global audiences. Broad Haven’s peculiar happenings did not go unnoticed and soon became international news when 16 schoolchildren claimed to see a UFO in the Pembrokeshire sky. Their sketches and narratives, consistently similar despite being separated during their recounting, provided eerie credibility to their stories.

Yet, the tales from Broad Haven are just one segment of a wider tapestry. Steven Spielberg’s production company, known for iconic science fiction titles like E.T, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, has taken a deep dive into these mysteries with their new Netflix documentary series ‘Encounters’.

Broad Haven’s tales are masterfully presented in one of the episodes. However, ‘Encounters’ spreads its net far and wide, delving into other gripping UFO and extraterrestrial events from around the world. Other episodes in the series explore accounts from a remote Scandinavian village with eerie lights, testimonies from a desert town in the U.S. plagued by abductions, and dark legends from an isolated mountain range in South America.

The Broad Haven episode is particularly close to Spielberg’s heart, given his affinity for extraordinary tales of the unexplained. According to the director of ‘Encounters’, Yon Motskin, the decision to focus on Broad Haven stemmed from the sheer volume of corroborative witness accounts. Over 450 individuals have testified to seeing something bizarre, and these recollections persist, even nearly half a century later.

The ‘Broad Haven Triangle’ remains one of Wales’s most tantalizing enigmas. With the gravitas of Spielberg’s production and the global platform provided by Netflix, the Pembrokeshire mysteries are poised to captivate and bewilder a new generation.

Encounters, offering a journey into the unexplained from Broad Haven to beyond, is available to stream on Netflix from Wednesday.

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