AN ONLINE plea to save a Pembrokeshire day centre from being closed has been lodged with the county council.

The Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock has been a “safe and happy place” for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs for decades.

In more recent years it has expanded to support elderly dementia sufferers.

But now the centre is expected to close, with services instead being offered elsewhere in the county, including Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

A series of engagement events have taken place at The Anchorage recently, outlining the reasons and the options in continued service.

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The parents and carers are all very upset at the way we have been treated, kept in the dark and then presented with what is a fait accompli to close the Anchorage, while at the same time going through the motions of a ‘consultation’ with us.

“The clients at The Anchorage have friendships with each other and staff going back decades in some cases.

“One young woman who attends ran out of the first meeting sobbing when she was told it was going to close. Another, at the second meeting, tried to address the meeting but was so chocked up at the thought of not seeing her friends anymore she could hardly speak.”

She added: “The Anchorage has been a respite in the day for parents and a safe, happy place for the clients.

“Everyone feels that the county council is not considering the feelings of the clients, most of whom are upset and frightened by change to their routine.”

Another person raising concerns said: “The centre is set to close as early as next month – meaning the sudden retraction of a service which, for many families in the area, is nothing short of a lifeline.

“I’m not sure PCC understand the gravity of the impact that closing the centre will have on the lives of many people, particularly the customers, some of whom may not understand or cope well with such a total upheaval of the familiarity of their daily routine.

“It’s so upsetting that the people who will be most affected by the closure of the centre are as much a part of the Pembrokeshire community as anybody else that the council claims to represent, and yet in this decision, I feel they’re not being seen as such.”

Since then, an online e-petition, on the council’s own website has been launched calling for it to stay open.

It says: “The centre provides day-care support to a number of vulnerable adults with varying levels of disability who are unable to process, and understand, the implications of such a decision.

“Some of those attending the centre have been doing so for over 20 years and continuity is a vital part of their lives. Removing this service will have nothing other than a huge detrimental impact on their health and mental wellbeing.”

The petition has attracted 284 signatures to date.

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “Following the engagement sessions held with families and service users regarding the future of the centre on April 10 and 17 at the Anchorage, families said that they would like to maintain the Anchorage Day Centre and explained that they would write to the council in order to ask for the decision to be overturned.

“People who attend the service will be offered alternative care, all service users are currently having their individual care needs assessed by social work teams to fully understand which other services best meet those care needs.”

A ‘CALL-IN’ on the recently-awarded contract for the second stage of Haverfordwest’s near-£19m transport interchange is to be heard next week.

The second stage of building Haverfordwest’s transport interchange was backed by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet last week, with members hearing it could cost the council more to not support it.

The transport interchange, which includes an integrated bus station and construction of a new multi-storey car park, is part of a wider series of regeneration projects in the county town.

The total cost of the Welsh Government grant-supported scheme in the approved budget is £18.881m, £1.987m from Pembrokeshire County Council.

At the April Cabinet meeting, a report for members warned that if the scheme was not backed: “It is envisaged Welsh Government will withdraw the funding awarded and the council would need to repay grants received to date; £10.322m has been received to date of which £3.376m has been offset against expenditure.”

It added: “Cost to cease this project could cost PCC more in terms of grant repayment and any capital work required to make good. PCC match contribution for the project is forecast as £1.987m of the £18.881m.”

It is expected parking revenue would “at least double” 2019 figures following an increase in charges.

Since that meeting, the council’s Welsh Conservative group, led by Cllr Di Clements – who hopes to become the new council leader at its May 10 meeting – has successfully ‘called in’ the decision.

Essentially, this means the award of the contract has been paused, with a special meeting of the council’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee due to be held on May 7 to discuss the matter.

In a ‘call-in’ letter, the Welsh Conservative group said: “This decision deserves full and proper scrutiny at committee level, as it appears that the Cabinet only focused on some elements of the scheme in their meeting, while the private documents provided to members tell quite a different story.”

The letter added: “You will agree that when spending such a large amount of public money, openness, honesty and transparency is key, and we owe it to the people of Pembrokeshire to demonstrate that when agreeing to this project.

“In the Cabinet meeting on April 22, there was little discussion on how the value engineering of this project will affect the project overall and therefore the group are concerned that the project has been changed to such an extent that it may require to be re-tendered at the new specification.

“Additionally, Cabinet members focused on this project being income generating, however, they are basing the feasibility and income generation of this site on 2019 figures.

“As a group, we believe that further financial feasibility studies should be done based on the last financial year’s more realistic figures as it is widely accepted that the way members of the public shop, particularly in town centres, has altered dramatically since Covid-19.”

A SCHEME for a 20-metre high 4G phone mast will need a full official application due to concerns about its impact on a nearby 19th century listed building, Pembrokeshire planners have said.

Applicants Cornerstone – in a ‘Prior Notification’ application to Pembrokeshire County Council, gave notice for the mast and ancillary works scheme at Ty Mawr Farm, Station Road, Boncath.

The development would allow a shared rural network for two of the main phone operators to provide 4G connection, a report for planners said.

The council’s Historic Environment Conservation Officer has objected to the proposal due to the impact on the Grade-II-listed 19th century Ty Mawr Lodge, just under 200 metres from the site.

“The conservation officer considers that given the historical connection with Ty Mawr Farm, the track to the south of Ty Mawr Lodge would be an essential part of the building’s historic setting, as the entranceway to Ty Mawr Farm,” the report says.

“The proposal would be clearly visible along the track with intra-visible views of the monopole and lodge from the track.  It has been concluded that the proposed development would have a negative impact on the setting of the listed building in its current proposed location.”

The need for a prior approval, meaning a full application, was also raised by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) as the site falls within an area within which military aircraft may conduct low-level flight training.

The report for planners concluded that prior approval is required for the scheme.