News

Haverfordwest Riverside project including new footbridge to proceed

Published

2 years ago

April 4, 2024

AN EXTRAORDINARY meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet has approved the tender of improvements to Haverfordwest’s Riverside.

The plans include the controversial new footbridge to connect the town centre to Haverfordwest Castle.
Last week, the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee called in the proposals at the behest of the Conservative Group and the IPG.

The Committee asked the Cabinet to provide further details about the cost of proceeding with the scheme and its potential financial impact on the Council’s revenue budget.

Deputy Leader Paul Miller chaired the meeting in Cllr David Simpson’s absence on annual leave. He immediately deferred to Darren Thomas, the Council’s Director of Transport and the Environment, to update the Cabinet with the information the Committee requested.

Mr Thomas confirmed the completion of the tender process and that the Walters Group would undertake the project on a fixed-price contract worth approximately £5.2m.

That sum includes considerable other works apart from the so-called “Instagrammable bridge”.
The contract’s scheduled completion date is March 31, 2025.

In 2021, Pembrokeshire County Council was awarded £17,700,266 from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) to complete the Heart of Pembrokeshire project.

The Heart of Pembrokeshire Project is an extremely complex, multi-package project that will take place in and around Haverfordwest Castle, an ancient scheduled monument.

The grant awarded for the Signature Bridge element of the Heart of Pembrokeshire project is £5,119,383, and the Council must contribute 10% through match funding towards the project cost.

Based on the full grant awarded for the bridge element, the Council must contribute £568,820.

Mr Thomas explained to the Cabinet that there were structural issues with the existing footbridge crossing the Cleddau River as it flowed through Haverfordwest Town Centre.

Those issues were chronic, and the cost of maintaining the existing crossing – or even wholly replacing it without funding – was a drain on scarce resources that exceeded the Council’s contribution to the new bridge’s construction.

Darren Thomas reported the existing bridge’s limited lifespan made ongoing repairs uneconomic, while a like-for-like replacement would cost more than the contribution towards the new bridge’s construction. Repairing and protecting the existing bridge would mean its closure for an extended period for maintenance.

Cllr Alec Cormack, the Cabinet Member for Finance, said that if the investment did not represent value for money, he would not support it. He continued saying that as he supported the project, it followed that he thought it was good value for money.

Cllr Jon Harvey said that the regeneration of the County’s town centres should’ve taken place years ago. He commended the current administration’s commitment to ensuring that jobs left undone for too long were completed.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett echoed Cllr Harvey’s remarks, observing that town centres had declined and that regenerating them, encouraging increased footfall, and building fresh infrastructure was essential to help maintain them.

Paul Miller said that if the choices and projects were easy, the private sector would have undertaken the projects and completed them. In the absence of private investment, Cllr Miller said the Council had a choice between stepping back and doing nothing or acting decisively to arrest long-standing underinvestment in public spaces.

The Cabinet, he continued, had a clear strategic vision for Haverfordwest and was undertaking several projects to regenerate its town centre and others.

The Council won funding for regenerating Haverfordwest in competition and secured 90% funding from the UK Government to enable it to do so.

The Cabinet approved the tender unanimously, and Walters Group is expected to start work on the improvements soon.

*Rusty condition of existing footbridge (Pic PCC)*

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

2 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, 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 shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, 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, 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 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.

Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s 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 next week, 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

2 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.

Local Government

Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Council pollution officers say they have no enforcement powers over Welsh Water infrastructure

SEWAGE contamination on the Commons in Pembroke has prompted an urgent response from pollution officers, after a leak was reported by a member of the public on Tuesday.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team confirmed they were alerted yesterday afternoon to sewage surrounding a manhole cover on the site. The Herald understands that officers immediately notified Welsh Water (DCWW) network technicians to investigate the incident “as a matter of urgency”.

County councillor Jonathan Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the authority had been clear that it holds no enforcement powers over Welsh Water assets.

“Whilst we work constructively with Welsh Water, we have no authority to intervene on their apparatus or to carry out enforcement action against them for such pollution incidents,” the Pollution Control Team said in a statement shared with the councillor.

Urgent works underway

Council officers visited the site on Wednesday morning alongside contractors and Welsh Water technicians to assess clean-up options. According to the team, works will include cleaning the contaminated ground in and around the manhole cover and fencing off the affected area “until safe”.

Cllr Grimes said officers would return to the scene on Thursday to check on progress and ensure the area is properly secured.

Residents who notice any further issues have been urged to contact the Pollution Control Team directly.

Further updates are expected later this week.