A CALL for a road closure alert system at a regularly flood-hit road at the entrance to Tenby where the existing sign warnings “don’t like operating when it’s wet” has been backed by senior councillors.

Back at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Rhys Jordan had said: “The B4318 at Gumfreston is prone to persistent flooding during adverse weather conditions, leading to road closures that disrupt travel and pose safety risks for residents and motorists.

“Currently, closures are not effectively communicated to residents, causing inconvenience, delays, and potential hazards. An efficient alert system would provide timely information to residents, allowing them to plan alternative routes and ensuring safety.”

At the October meeting Cllr Jordan had revealed the existing flood warning system signs “don’t like operating when its wet”.

The February meeting of the council’s Cabinet received a notice of motion by Cllr Jordan calling for a flood alert system for residents warning of any road closures of the B4318, which was recommended for approval.

In his notice of motion, Cllr Jordan said the flood warning signs, “continue to malfunction, leaving residents uninformed and ill-prepared for closures,” despite him raising the issue at full council on two occasions.

His call said: “The technology required to address this issue already exists within Pembrokeshire County Council. For example, the Cleddau Bridge successfully uses an alert system to inform residents and motorists of closures. A similar system should be implemented for the B4318 at Gumfreston.”

A report for members said a 2011 feasibility report to realign or raise the road had estimated the costs would be £4.5m at the time, now raised to £6m, the budget at the time used to install the flood monitoring and warning system.

The report added: “Recently, the warning sign system was subject to a hostile cyber-attack and whilst this has now been resolved, the signs are not currently being operated automatically, but are being remotely controlled from the Cleddau Bridge office when required.

“However, the Highways teams are working with suppliers to improve reliability and to install new water depth sensors which will allow the system to be restored to automatic operation once more.”

Referencing the current Cleddau Bridge system, the report said it would be feasible to have a similar system for the B4318 road at Gumfreston, with a cost of some £2,000 for the works.

Speaking at the February 10 meeting, Cllr Jordan said there was a need for “a long-term infrastructure solution” to address the flooding issues, but said the recommendation was a “pragmatic” improvement given the council’s limited resources.

“But what I am not happy is with the length of time this has taken, it’s a step in the right direction but disappointing that it has taken a year of me asking and many years of people suffering to get to the situation today.

“It will not solve the problem but at least will provide some mitigation. The residents deserve better planning and better outcomes.”

Cabinet member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said the council “acknowledge a long-term sustainable solution would be the best outcome,” but was pleased there was “a sense of pragmatism” in the proposal.

The proposal was unanimously supported by Cabinet members.

COUNCIL TAX in Pembrokeshire is expected to rise by nearly 10 per cent this year, taking the average annual bill to well over £2,000, but senior councillors rejected a potential increase as high as 17 per cent.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on February 10, was recommended to support one of four options for the council tax element of the forthcoming 2025-’26 budget.

The proposed rises, and the increase for the average Band D property were: 9.85 per cent (£148.81), 11.14 per cent (£168.29), and 16.58 per cent (£250.48), with a fourth option put forward by the council’s Liberal Democrat group members for a 12 per cent increase (£181.29).

For many years Pembrokeshire has had the lowest Band D Council Tax in Wales.

Following the 12.5 per cent increase in 2024-25 Pembrokeshire moved to the fourth lowest council tax in Wales with a base Band D Council Tax of £1,510.72 per year, before town and community council and police precepts were added.

A report for members at Cabinet meeting, presented by Cabinet member for finance Cllr Joshua Beynon, said the council’s projected funding gap for 2025-26 has been reduced from £34.1m to £27.4m after a better-than-expected Welsh Government local government settlement but said: “… it is evident that major budget savings as well as a significant council tax increase will be required in order to deliver a balanced budget for 2025-26. The lower the Band D council tax increase, the higher the budget savings requirement will be, with the consequential adverse impact on the provision of council services.”

The report has said a potential use of in exception circumstances of up to £1.3m could be considered, but the council’s Section 151 Officer has warned: “Unless there is a clear plan to replenish, any utilisation of reserves to balance the budget would only be a sticking plaster and will add to the projected funding gap for the following year.”

Members backed a long list of budget proposals moved by Cllr Beynon including the 9.85 per cent council tax rate, and that any improvement in central funding be used to reduce efficiency savings pressures on education in the first instance.

Council leader Cllr Jon Harvey said: “This budget, given the financial constraints, it really is the bare minimum council tax increase; it’s not just about numbers on a page, it’s about not losing vital services.

“Setting a balanced budget will allow us to navigate the difficult challenges, putting the authority on the path to long-term sustainability.”

The final decision on the council budget will be debated by all members of the council at a special meeting on February 20.

For this coming year, the Dyfed-Powys Police precept part of the overall council tax bill is rising by 8.6 per cent, bringing the rate for a Band D property to £360.68.

That means, if the 9.85 per cent rate is backed, the average Band D council tax bill, before individual town or community council precepts are added, would be £2,020.21.

Neighbouring authority Ceredigion is proposing an increase of just under 10 per cent but an alternative around the six per cent mark is currently being mooted.

SENEDD Members from across the political spectrum paid tribute to Dafydd Elis-Thomas following the former Plaid Cymru leader’s death on Friday.

Lord Elis-Thomas served as the first speaker of the then-National Assembly for Wales for 12 years from the dawn of Welsh devolution in 1999 until 2011.

Elin Jones, the current speaker or Llywydd, described her predecessor as a “close friend to many here, a political comrade to many too, and an enigma to all”.

Leading tributes in the debating chamber, or Siambr, on February 11, she said: “This Senedd today is what it is because, to a very great extent, of Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

“And, certainly, all of us in this wonderful Senedd building and this wonderful Siambr are here because of Dafydd’s vision and perseverance.”

Lord Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent in 2016 after clashing with former leader Leanne Wood over support for the Labour Welsh Government.

A year later, he was appointed minister for culture, sport and tourism in Carwyn Jones’ government – a role he held until stepping down at the 2021 election.

Eluned Morgan, who joined the Welsh Government in the same reshuffle, said Wales had lost one of its greatest servants who left an indelible mark on the nation’s democracy.

Baroness Morgan told the Siambr: “He helped to establish this institution when it was a fragile flower, he encapsulated the best of the Welsh intellectual tradition.”

She said Lord Elis-Thomas transcended party lines, influencing Labour as well as Plaid Cymru and prompting a shift from the party’s more unionist tradition towards devolution.

Baroness Morgan joked: “He’d always have a go at things. On one occasion, he went on a visit to Zip World. The sight of a lord bouncing up and down on a trampoline in the caverns in Llechwedd was, I’m told, a sight to behold.

“And, in classic Dafydd style, when he emerged from the chwarel [quarry] he pointed to a plaque on the wall which he’d unveiled 40 years previously.

“That was Dafydd – he’d been everywhere and he knew everyone.”

Lord Elis-Thomas, who was party leader from 1984 to 1991, hoped for a homecoming in 2023 but abandoned his bid to rejoin Plaid Cymru in the face of a disciplinary-style process.

Often outspoken, the Carmarthen-born politician had a rocky relationship with his own party and faced criticism for accepting a life peerage in 1992.

As Senedd speaker in 2004, he ordered Ms Wood to leave the chamber for “discourtesy” after she called the Queen “Mrs Windsor” then refused to withdraw the remark.

And, after quitting the party only six months after the 2016 election, Lord Elis-Thomas, rejected calls from former colleagues to trigger a by-election.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru’s current leader, described his predecessor as a peerless politician who was a part of the party’s DNA for more than half a century.

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “Wales is indebted to Dafydd for shaping this chamber as it is today but its debt is just as great to him for standing for what was just and what was right.

“And he shaped our nation in accordance with those values. We could not have wished for a better inaugural Llywydd than Dafydd. He was a political architect, a man of bold vision.”

Lord Elis-Thomas began his political career in 1974 as the “baby of the house”, the then-youngest MP, before serving as a Senedd Member for 22 years from 1999.

Darren Millar, leader of the Senedd Conservative group, described Lord Elis-Thomas as a titan of Welsh politics who was never afraid to challenge the status quo.

Mr Millar said: “It was Dafydd’s steady hand that helped cement the Senedd’s place at the heart of our national life and Welsh democracy.”

The Tory recalled the peer approaching him at an event at the Welsh Mountain Zoo and saying: “I’ve come to see you in your natural habitat.”

Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds said: “When strong characters pass away it’s a time to remember that we, here, as Members of the Senedd stand on the shoulders of giants.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, who succeeded Lord Elis-Thomas as the Senedd Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, described his contribution to Welsh politics as immeasurable.

His Plaid Cymru colleague Adam Price told the Senedd: “His truly was a long march through the institutions, an embodiment of that idea that sometimes the most revolutionary act is to take your seat at the table and ever so subtly change the conversation from within.”

He said: “More than anyone else, Dafydd El – and to those of us who knew and loved him, he will always be Dafydd El – expanded the political horizons of Wales’s possibilities.”