News

Nobody happy with 12.5% Council Tax compromise

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2024

THE QUESTION was who would blink first.

Would councillors vote down the budget and Council Tax proposals, plunging the Council into turmoil, or would there be a last-minute deal?

A deal, there wasn’t.

But, faced with the possibility of Independent Group councillors and Conservatives banding together to block the budget, the Cabinet did offer a compromise.

That compromise – a 12.5% Council Tax rise this year – finally passed after a debate that involved more officer input than any previous budget.

The Monitoring Officer and Head of Legal, Rhian Young, faced with allegations that officers had engaged in “strongarm” tactics intended to intimidate well-known nervous nellies David Bryan, Michael Williams, and Mike Stoddart, carefully explained—three times—that she and the Council’s Director of Resources had been asked by several councillors what would happen if the Council did not set a budget. To inform all councillors and avoid confusion, they emailed their response to all of Pembrokeshire’s county councillors.

The CEO, Will Bramble, clearly exasperated by being asked the same question three different ways by three different councillors, deferred to Ms Young to reply on matters of procedure.

The Director of Resources, Jon Haswell, carefully explained his reservations about a 12.5% Council Tax rise.
Too many councillors were stuck on transmit and too few on receive.

So Mr Haswell had to repeat them. Twice.

During a break in proceedings caused by an equipment malfunction, the disembodied voice of a couple of councillors could be heard.

One, easily identifiable as Cllr Mike Williams, lamented that the connection indicator was “just going round and round”. He paused and added: “Like this morning, really.”

And that’s what it was like.

In truth, Cllr Williams’s observation about the proceedings was not his best contribution to the meeting.

After Cllr Alec Cormack moved the main budget motion, the Council’s Deputy Leader, Paul Miller, moved to suspend standing orders to place an amended budget before the Council.

After lunatic procedural shenanigans, Councillors eventually voted to let Cllr Miller lay his amendments and speak to them.

12.5% – more out of reserves, a different approach to the leisure budget, a restructure of back-office functions – and the proposed Council Tax rise fell from 16.31% to 12.5%.

Cllr Jamie Adams did his best to respond, but the killer blow came from Mike Williams.

The Tenby North councillor wondered if Cllr Adams opposed a 12.5% increase and the amended budget fell, would he then support a 16.31% rise as that was the only other proposal on the table?

There was no snappy comeback to that one.

Cllr Williams had shot Cllr Adams’s fox.

Cllr Adams wriggled and tried to get Jon Haswell to come to his aid. Unimpressed as the Director of

Resources was by a 12.5% Council Tax rise, he wouldn’t do Cllr Adams’s job for him.

Through gritted teeth, Jon Haswell said he was satisfied the 12.5% rise met the Council’s obligation to set a balanced budget for the coming financial year.

He added, however, that next year’s budget would be trickier than forecast.

Conservative Group Leader Di Clements expressed her reservations about the last-minute changes to the budget.

Her principal concern was that the figures used to justify a 12.5% rise had to be taken on trust, as they had not been scrutinised.

She also observed, with frustration, that waiting until the last minute to pull a budgetary rabbit out of a hat was not good for building consensus.

It all looked to be drifting to a vote when, with a speech written and not wanting to waste his opportunity to get his deathless oratory into the record, Cllr Jamie Adams moved to give more time for speakers to address the amendment.

Cllr Adams’s speech wasn’t about the amendment.

First, taking the good points he made, local government funding is a mess. Wales has far too many councillors. The local government system is deficient. How councils get grants and what they are allowed to spend them on is wrong.

So far, so good. Nothing to disagree with there.

However, Cllr Adams then decided that with a speech written for a debate that wouldn’t happen, he had to score some political points.

Cllr Adams complained that the administration hadn’t been bolder with Council Tax increases in the past to avoid the present crisis.

Cllr Adams did not acknowledge that he and the IPG had opposed and engaged in guerilla warfare against the Council Tax rises that would have avoided the present crisis.

The Cabinet, Jamie Adams declared, was too focused on the jam and not the bread and butter issues.
Councillor Adams failed to mention the number of white elephants he’d left littering the capital budget.

Cllr Adams said the current administration had been in place for seven years, so banging on about the previous one’s addiction to the “Lowest Council Tax in Wales” was jolly unfair. Put a pin in that thought.

Cllr Adams then mentioned he’d examined the figures behind the Children’s Social Care budget and accused Cllr Paul Miller of sleeping on the job for not paying attention to it. Put a pin in that thought.

Finally, Cllr Adams said the Cabinet had only cobbled together a compromise because it knew it would otherwise lose the vote and its remaining time in office was short.

Step forward, Cllr Tessa Hodgson.

She began gently. Cllr Adams, she reminded him, had been the only person in the room to mention the previous administration and the lowest council tax in Wales. Nobody had mentioned his administration.

She said the Cabinet, of which she is a member, is focused on the here and now.

She then reminded Cllr Adams of how the Cabinet works. Cllr Miller does not have the Social Care portfolio; Cllr Hodgson does.

Highlighting the IPG’s old boys’ nature, she suggested that instead of addressing his remarks at Paul Miller, he should address them to her. The implicit criticism of Cllr Adams for directing flak at the Deputy Leader because he is a member of the Labour Party was clear.

Cllr Hodgson not only defended the Council’s handling of the Social Care budget but also pointed out that unplanned and unanticipated cost increases in service delivery were, by their very nature, not something anyone could anticipate. The cost of delivering services had shot up, the demand increased, and the Council had to provide them.

There was no alternative budget on the table.

It was the sort of firm smackdown needed to draw a line under a fractious debate that spent more time speaking about what members said they felt about setting the budget than any real engagement with the budget itself.

When Cllr Miller’s amendment to the budget passed by 32-26, the Council had managed to dodge a bullet.

Having been marched up to the top of the hill by the IPG twice in the last year, the Conservatives will feel deflated.

They’ll be invited to hitch their wagon to the IPG again in May as the Independent Group tries to form another administration.

Who and what they’ll be able to rally behind is anyone’s guess.

Business

£13m offshore wind funding boost: Pembrokeshire projects among UK winners

Published

3 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Second round of Crown Estate accelerator backs Welsh innovation as Celtic Sea sector gathers pace

PEMBROKESHIRE has secured a key share of a new £13 million investment aimed at accelerating the UK’s offshore wind supply chain, with Ledwood Engineering in Pembroke Dock named among the successful projects backed by The Crown Estate.

The announcement comes as the UK marks 25 years since its first offshore wind turbines were installed off Blyth, celebrating a sector that now employs 40,000 people and generates nearly a fifth of the nation’s electricity.

Funding to drive growth in the Celtic Sea

Sixteen projects across England, Wales and Scotland will share the funding, with Pembrokeshire’s role in the expanding Celtic Sea floating wind sector highlighted by both UK and Welsh Ministers.

Ledwood Engineering’s project — focused on automated mooring systems — is one of several Welsh schemes selected, alongside work by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and a floating construction station at Port Talbot.

The Crown Estate says the accelerator programme is designed to de-risk early-stage supply chain development, helping UK companies get to the point where they can attract major investment and support the infrastructure needed for construction, manufacturing, assembly and maintenance of offshore wind projects.

This latest funding round is nearly three times larger than the first award last year. If the projects progress to full build-out, they could unlock £2.2 billion of capital investment and create around 3,000 skilled jobs.

Pembrokeshire’s critical role

The Welsh Government says today’s announcement demonstrates that Wales is “building the infrastructure and expertise to lead the floating wind revolution” — with Pembrokeshire a key strategic location because of its deep-water port, skilled energy workforce and proximity to Celtic Sea development zones.

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning Rebecca Evans said:
“This funding is a significant vote of confidence in Wales’ offshore wind capabilities. From Ledwood Engineering’s work in Pembroke Dock to projects testing new technologies for the Celtic Sea, these developments will create high-quality jobs, deliver clean energy and strengthen our coastal communities for generations to come.”

The Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
“The development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea presents huge opportunities for Wales… creating thousands of well-paid skilled jobs. The UK Government is working with partners to develop home-grown clean energy which will secure our supply, reduce bills and help achieve net zero.”

Industry reaction

Julia Rose, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate, said the accelerator is helping early-stage projects reach the point where they can secure long-term investment.

“These innovative businesses will help us move closer towards our clean power and energy security goals. Supporting the onshore supply chain is essential if the UK is to keep pace with the scale of offshore development planned for the next 25 years.”

RenewableUK’s Head of Supply Chain Ajai Ahluwalia added that focusing on high-value components for offshore wind could triple the UK’s current manufacturing capacity and boost the UK economy by £25 billion by 2035.

What it means for Pembrokeshire

With major developments planned in the Celtic Sea, including floating offshore wind farms capable of powering millions of homes, today’s announcement strengthens Pembrokeshire’s position as:

A manufacturing and engineering hub for large-scale renewable infrastructure
A potential operations and maintenance base for future wind farms
A region that could benefit from substantial job creation in the energy transition

The Herald understands that further announcements linked to port upgrades, fabrication facilities and construction-stage investment may follow as the Celtic Sea programme advances.

Community

End of the line for Intercity 125s as GWR retires Castle Class fleet

Published

31 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Final services mark the end of an era for West Wales rail passengers

THE LAST remaining Intercity 125 High Speed Trains on the Great Western network will make their final scheduled journeys this Saturday (Dec 13), bringing to a close nearly 50 years of service on routes across Wales and the West Country.

Great Western Railway confirmed that its refurbished “Castle Class” sets – shortened HST formations powered by the iconic Class 43 locomotives – will be withdrawn from passenger use after this weekend. The trains, first introduced in 1976, were once the backbone of long-distance travel between West Wales and London Paddington, including the direct Milford Haven–Paddington service used by generations of students and commuters.

Although the Castle sets stopped operating long-distance routes in 2019, they continued to run regional services between Cardiff and Penzance, and were a familiar sight in Pembrokeshire during summer diagrams. Until a few years ago, it was still possible to see a 125 working into Pembroke Dock on weekend services.

To manage expected public interest, GWR will operate an additional farewell round-trip on Saturday, leaving Plymouth at 3.16pm, running to Penzance (calling only at Par), before returning at 5.32pm.

GWR said the trains will be replaced by its existing diesel fleet alongside 26 recommissioned Class 175s, which will roll out gradually during 2026.

The retirement brings a wave of nostalgia for many West Wales passengers who remember the era when a full-length 125 left Milford Haven each morning bound for London. The distinctive Valenta engine note, table seating, and early laptop users powering their machines from the staff hoover socket made the service part of local student life in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Saturday’s farewell run will mark the final chapter for a train that transformed long-distance travel and, for nearly half a century, connected Pembrokeshire to the capital at high speed.

If you’d like, we can add a nostalgia breakout box revisiting the Milford Haven–Paddington days, the Red Dragon breakfast service, and the 125 summers on the Pembroke Dock branch.

Local Government

Carmarthenshire welcomes new council leader

Published

1 hour ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

New Cabinet confirmed following Full Council meeting

COUNCILLOR Linda Evans has been appointed Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council and Chair of the Cabinet following a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday (Dec 10).

A long-serving Plaid Cymru councillor for the Llanfihangel-ar-Arth ward, Cllr Evans has served on the authority since 2008 and has been a Cabinet Member since 2015.

Her appointment was formally confirmed during the meeting, where she also announced her Cabinet team — a 10-member executive responsible for the council’s overall business. The Cabinet meets fortnightly to make key decisions and recommendations to Full Council and, in some cases, decisions can be taken individually by Cabinet Members.

All members of the previous administration have retained their roles, with one change: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone joins the Cabinet as the new Cabinet Member for Homes.

The full Cabinet is as follows:

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism: Cllr Hazel Evans
Cabinet Member for Education: Cllr Glynog Davies
Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Communities and Welsh Language: Cllr Carys Jones
Cabinet Member for Organisation and Workforce: Cllr Philip Hughes
Cabinet Member for Resources: Cllr Alun Lenny
Cabinet Member for Homes: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone
Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services: Cllr Edward Thomas
Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Children and Adult Social Services: Cllr Jane Tremlett
Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability: Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen
Leader of the Council: Cllr Linda Evans

Speaking after her appointment, Cllr Evans said:
“It’s an honour to be elected as Council Leader and I look forward to working with the Cabinet and all members across the chamber for the benefit of the residents of Carmarthenshire.”