A SCHEME to convert the basement of a Grade-II-listed former pub in a Pembrokeshire town’s conservation area to a flat has been refused by planners who said it would create an “oppressive living environment”.

In the application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Toyeb Ali Rahman, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, sought permission to convert the basement of the former Kings Arms Hotel, Dew Street, Haverfordwest, the building most recently used as an Indian takeaway, to a residential flat.

A supporting statement said: “The Kings Arms Public House was a public house and was formerly a coaching house with a range of former stables to the rear which have been converted to dwellings. It is a mid-terrace property fronting the western side of Dew Street close to the town centre of Haverfordwest,” adding: “Since closure the public house has been used as a takeaway restaurant and is a mixture of flats and offices.”

It went on to say: “The application proposal only involves a small-scale conversion of a basement storage area associated with the former Kings Arms Hotel to a one bedroom residential flat. There would be no extensions with the only external alteration to the building being the replacement of a poorly detailed metal roller shutter door with conventional domestic entrance door with sidelight.

“As such, there would be no change to the impact of the building or proposal on the locality. In fact, basement area is not at all visible from the street scene along Dew Street.”

However, the scheme was refused by county planners on three points.

“The proposed change of use would result in a self-contained residential unit that fails to provide an acceptable standard of residential amenity for future occupiers. The habitable accommodation would be served by no external windows, resulting in inadequate levels of natural daylight and outlook and creating a poor-quality and oppressive living environment.

“Furthermore, insufficient information has been submitted to demonstrate that adequate ventilation, air quality, and moisture control could be achieved without harm to the character and appearance of the listed building.”

Planners also said the proposals would, through its design and use of materials, “fail to respect the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building”.

The final reason for refusal was the scheme would “result in an increase in nitrogen discharges draining into the Milford Haven Inner waterbody of the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC) where features are known to be in unfavourable condition due to current evidence of both chemical and biological failure,” with insufficient information to demonstrate mitigation measures which would allow the proposed development to achieve nutrient neutrality.

Output rises in January amid sustained increase in new orders

WELSH firms returned to growth in January, with business confidence climbing to its highest level in 16 months, according to the latest Cymru Growth Tracker from NatWest.

The Wales Business Activity Index — a seasonally adjusted measure of month-on-month changes across manufacturing and services — rose to 50.3 in January, up from 49.4 in December. Any reading above 50 signals growth, ending a four-month run of contraction for the Welsh private sector.

The improvement was supported by a continued rise in new orders, although the pace of expansion eased and remained only modest overall.

Business optimism strengthened for the third consecutive month, reaching its highest point since September 2024. Firms said they were hopeful that increased investment would help drive growth throughout 2026, despite ongoing concerns about the impact of higher prices on customer demand.

However, inflationary pressures remained elevated. Input costs rose at the joint-fastest pace since last August, matching December’s four-month high and remaining historically strong. Of the 12 UK regions monitored, only Northern Ireland recorded a sharper increase in cost pressures.

Welsh companies raised their selling prices for the second month in a row in an effort to pass on higher costs. The rate of price increases was the steepest since May 2025 and broadly in line with the UK average.

Despite the return to growth, staffing levels continued to fall. Workforce numbers declined at the fastest rate since December 2024 — the steepest reduction of any UK region — as firms cited financial pressures and cost control measures.

Backlogs of work fell at a marked pace, faster than in December, suggesting businesses were able to work through outstanding orders as output improved.

Jessica Shipman, Chair of the NatWest Cymru Board, said Welsh businesses were showing “growing optimism about future output”, but warned that cost pressures remained significant and were contributing to job losses.

Although activity returned to growth, the rate of expansion in Wales remained well below the UK average, and confidence levels were slightly weaker than the national trend.

PLANS for new livestock buildings at a Pembrokeshire dairy farm, aimed at “improved animal husbandry” will not lead to an increase in herd size, councillors heard.

In an application recommended for approval at the February meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Mr Roblin of Clynderwen Farm, Clunderwen, sought permission for two livestock building at the 210-hectare dairy farm of 280 cows and 235 head of young stock.

A report for members said each livestock accommodation building would have a length of 77 m, a width of 33m, an eaves height of 3.6m and a ridge height of 8.9m.

Both buildings would be parallel to each other and would cover a footprint of 5,082sqm (2,541sqm each). The proposal includes a total of 308 cubicles, loafing and feed areas, with a central feed passage in the middle.

It said the buildings at the site, some 200 metres from the nearby Redhill school and just over a kilometre from Clunderwen, would sit a little lower than those already on site, and the proposals would not lead to any increase in herd size.

Speaking at the meeting, agent Gethin Beynon said the scheme would lead to “improved animal husbandry to serve the existing milking herd and to support the next farming generation”.

He told members the application was accompanied by environmental enhancements and screening, with no objections from members of the public or any statutory bodies.

Mr Beynon went on to say the herd was currently housed in historic farm site buildings that “fall short of current standards,” with a farm move towards Holstein cattle which need more space.

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“It will improve animal husbandry and efficiencies in what is currently a challenging market,” he concluded.

Approval was moved by Cllr Alan Dennison, seconded by Cllr Brian Hall, and unanimously backed by committee members.