News

National Park planners refuse 40-pitch campsite at Parke Farm

Published

2 years ago

December 19, 2023

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A SCHEME for a 40-pitch campsite on ‘best’ south Pembrokeshire agricultural land was refused despite pleas for approval, or at least a site visit.

Applicant Charles Goldsworthy sought – in an application submitted through agent Steve Hole Architects – permission for 40 pitches including associated infrastructure at Parke Farm campsite, just outside the hamlet of Merrion, near Pembroke.

Concerns were raised by Stackpole & Castlemartin Community Council in relation to safety when exiting the caravan site onto the main road.

The application was recommended for refusal at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s Development Management Committee; an officer report for members stating the application was contrary to national planning policy as it seeks to change the use of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) Agricultural Land into a caravan and camping site.

“Such land should only be developed if there is an overriding need for the scheme and either previously developed land or land in lower agricultural grades are unavailable,” and such land “should be conserved as a finite resource for the future with considerable weight given to protecting it from development,” the report said.

At the December meeting, Councillor Reg Owens made failed attempts for either a site visit or approval of the application.

He said the 10-acre site, while occupying BMV land, was too small to be a viable farm in its own right, and a caravan park wouldn’t prevent future agricultural usage.

“I’m a bit reluctant to support a blanket refusal; this site, I personally would like to go out and have a look.”

Cllr Owens’ site visit call saw members tie on six votes for and six against, committee chair Madeline Havard casting a second vote against it on the basis members had sufficient information, and the scheme went against policy.

Cllr Owens then made a call for the scheme to be approved: “We are a tourist county, it’s perhaps the biggest employer; I always felt we should cater for everybody to come and enjoy the beauty of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and the rest.

“There is a need for accommodation which is affordable to all.”

Cllr Owen’s call for approval failed, with the recommendation for refusal later passing.

The application site is some 400 metres from the partly-demolished RAF St Twynnells Rotor Radar Station, developed to counter the threat of attack by the Soviet Union after their first trial of a nuclear weapon in 1949.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

55 minutes ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

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.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon 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
shortly after 4pm 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 is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (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 yesterday 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.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.

Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s 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 training opportunities and energy-
bill support 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

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.