News

Petition praised as Welsh Government agrees to Fingerpost junction changes

Published

5 months ago

November 24, 2023

SENEDD members praised the friends of a man who died at the notorious Nash Fingerpost during a debate on Wednesday, November 22.

On Saturday, May 13, Ashley Rogers lost his life at the A477 “Fingerpost” junction while travelling towards Pembroke.

The 29-year-old from Kilgetty died at the scene, leaving behind a devastated fiancé, son and family.
His death marked the third fatality on that stretch of road within the last 12 years.

There have also been innumerable near misses on what is known locally as a “blackspot” for road traffic accidents.

One of Mr Rogers’s friends, Elliot Morrison, organised a petition to the Senedd seeking action to tackle safety. It collected over 10,300 signatures. Over 80 per cent of those signatures came from Pembrokeshire’s two Welsh parliamentary constituencies.

As a result, the Welsh Government has now agreed to carry out much-needed and long-delayed improvements to the dangerous junction.

Speaking in the Senedd, local MS Sam Kurtz said: “Sadly, this was not the first fatality at this junction. In memory of Ashley and to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again at this junction, his friend Elliott Morrison launched the petition stating, ‘Enough is enough’.

“My predecessor, Angela Burns, raised the issue of Nash Fingerpost on many occasions in this Chamber and was a strong advocate for improvements to be made. Simon Hart MP, too, has campaigned for changes to this junction for over a decade.

“Thanks must also be given to the local county councillor, Tessa Hodgson, for her support for much-needed improvements; to Yvette Weblin-Grimsley, who tirelessly campaigned, helping the petition reach 10,000 signatures; and to the wider countless other county, town and community councillors and the wider constituents, who lobbied, campaigned and petitioned on the matter and who have written to me to share their concerns.”

Sam Kurtz also praised Senedd Petitions Committee Chair Jack Sargeant, who visited the Nash Fingerpost to learn about its layout and safety issues.

Mr Sargeant told the Senedd: “Some members of the local community are afraid to use the junction in its current state because of the dangers.

On the CCTV the Welsh Government put into place, you could see large vehicles blocking roads. You could see u-turns taking place.”Mr Sargeant said that when he visited the junction with Sam Kurtz in October, he saw similarly dangerous incidents caused by the road’s layout and driver behaviour.

Plaid Regional MS Cefin Campbell reflected on alarming road traffic incident numbers across West Wales.

He said: “Last year alone, across Pembrokeshire, Dyfed-Powys Police recorded 231 accidents, with 99 people either killed or seriously injured.

“Only about half an hour away from Nash, on the A40 between Carmarthen and St Clears, 359 accidents occurred between 2010 and 2019, again resulting in deaths and life-changing injuries.”

Preseli MS Paul Davies said: “Some of you will have also seen the Motorcycle Action Group’s video, which shows just how dangerous the junction is.

“The video shows vehicles pulling out of the junction and waiting across the actual carriageway, which then forces the oncoming traffic to slow down or stop, and it also showed long queues of traffic waiting on the A4075 approach and cars in the central waiting area. Therefore, a permanent solution must be found to make the junction as safe as possible.”

Welsh Government Minister Julie James responded to the debate.

She said: “At this junction, we’ve already laid new road markings, which highlight ‘Araf’ or ‘Slow’. We’ve erected road safety signs and begun improvements to junction signage.

“We have informed local stakeholders that we’re implementing a temporary new 40 mph speed limit and a no u-turn order at this junction ahead of the permanent order process.

“Regarding the timescale for installing the traffic signals, we intend to start this financial year.

“It requires the laying of cabling induction before the main civil works. That depends on some third-party engagement with National Grid and land ownership issues, but we intend to get them in this financial year.”

On calls for a roundabout, the subject of another petition launched this month, the Minister said: “We will, of course, consider a roundabout. That will be subject to the outcome and review of the measures that have already been put in place.

“A roundabout would take a considerable amount of time to put in place – at least three years – even if the land was all within our highway boundary.”

Farming

Animal health and welfare workshops help family farm shape future business

Published

4 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

AN eagerness to learn new skills and knowledge is helping mother and son Dianna and Iestyn Spary to continually improve their livestock farming enterprise and build a financially sustainable business fit for the future.

Technical expertise and good business sense are not qualities the Sparys lack since embarking on an impressive number of Farming Connect workshops, covering a range of animal health and welfare topics.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity, we have learned so much that we can apply within the day to day running of our farm and herd, and we can draw on that knowledge as we look at developing new enterprises and diversifications,’’ says Dianna.

She is the fifth generation of her family to farm at Goytre Farm at New Church West, Chepstow, Iestyn the sixth.

Together they farm 110 hectares, running a Hereford-cross beef suckler herd and also rearing beef cattle purchased as baby calves, including more recently British Blues, taking these through to slaughter.

Although they have been immersed in agriculture all their lives, they recognise that it is an industry that is constantly changing as new research and ideas are rolled out and applied.

This is where the Farming Connect workshops have been so incredibly valuable, says Dianna.

“You are never too old to learn, things are changing all the time. If we hadn’t got involved in attending the workshops, we would never have known about some of those new ways of doing things.’’

From learning how to maximise suckler cow productivity and protecting youngstock health to understanding diseases such as Johne’s and bovine TB, the animal health and welfare training workshops have been “enormously valuable’’, she adds.

The pair have tapped into Farming Connect accredited training courses covering areas such as calf management, health and housing, body condition scoring and safe use of veterinary medicines.

“You name it we have done it,’’ says Dianna.

They were announced the winners of the 2023 Farming Connect Animal Health and Welfare Award at the Lantra Cymru Awards in January.

The knowledge gained through Farming Connect workshops and training has helped inform changes in the business.

“We now monitor cattle weights more closely and have introduced different ways of feeding,’’ Dianna explains.

“We have also been revamping all the cattle sheds and have a couple of new ones that will be going up.

“We’ve also invested in calf jackets and if there are any drops in weights, we are more responsive with feed intakes, little things like that.’’

Iestyn has also benefited from a number of sheep-related topics offered through the animal health workshops.

Through the Farming Connect Advisory Service, they have received specialist veterinary advice on their Herd Health Plan with a focus on incoming stock and biosecurity. They have also had guidance on soil health through the soil clinic.

The Sparys largely use traditional farming methods at Goytre Farm where they have several hay meadows.

All feed is produced on-farm. “By doing everything in-house we know exactly what we are feeding and that’s important to us,’’ says Dianna.

That distinctiveness, which sets them apart from some of the more mainstream farming systems, has given them the confidence to consider establishing a diversification into meat box sales, what Dianna describes as a ‘farm to fork’ approach.

Working with a local butcher who has an abattoir licence, they hope to do everything on-site, from slaughter through to hanging the carcass for 28 days, and then selling cuts direct to the consumer.

“We have also spoken to a chef who is going to produce some recipe cards for us to include in the boxes along with a bit of history of where the meat has come from,’’ says Dianna.

Another future project could be converting stone barns in the farmyard to holiday accommodation.

To help focus their minds on their plans, the Sparys will get guidance at a Farming Connect diversification surgery; they have also signed up for a ‘planning a diversification’ training course and will attend a ‘Dos and Don’ts of Diversification’ event in the coming weeks.

For Iestyn, another form of diversification, into agricultural contracting, has provided a secondary income stream.

His customer base is largely farms with smaller acreages with crops that require harvesting or spraying.

Farming Connect has helped with this process too as Iestyn has gained his Level 2 Award in the Safe Use of Pesticides (PA1) and Safe Application of Pesticides Using Vehicle mounted Boom Sprayer Equipment (PA2).

He also offers field maintenance and fencing and works on a neighbouring farm during the lambing season.

This is where Farming Connect has again helped; through the animal health workshops, he has covered modules advising on the prevention of lambing losses and lameness, improving lamb performance post-weaning and parasite controls.

Dianna says the opportunities available through Farming Connect have really helped to drive the family farming business forward.

“We have a good relationship with our local Farming Connect development officer Lisa Powell, she has been brilliant in giving us advice on which courses and workshops are right for us and signing us up for those,’’ she says.

All your achievements, training and knowledge transfer activities are saved within your personal, online Storfa Sgiliau account, the unique, online professional development tool, available for you to view and download at any time from your BOSS (Business Online Support Service) account.

Education

Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training

Published

8 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.

The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.

However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.

The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.

The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.

We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.

Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.

Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.

As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.

This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”

Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.

This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.

The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”