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Stop funding Bute, Carmarthenshire residents tell County Council

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CARMARTHENSHIRE Residents Action Group (CRAiG Sir Gâr) has challenged Carmarthenshire County Council leader Cllr Darren Price to stop funding Bute Energy through the council’s pension fund investment at today’s Cabinet meeting at County Hall. 

Green Gen / Bute Energy is proposing to run at least two pylon chains through Carmarthenshire’s countryside’s decimating the historic landscape of the Tywi Valley and villages and along the A485.  Councillors including Plaid Cymru Council Leader Darren Price have voiced their opposition.  Yet Carmarthenshire is one of seven Welsh local authorities to invest its pension fund in Bute Energy.  In contrast, neighbouring Powys County Council has declined to invest in the controversial firm.

Havard Hughes, local resident and spokesperson for the Carmarthenshire Residents’ Action Group commented: “We’ve challenged the County Council on their funding of Bute Energy because both Cllr Darren Price and Cllr Ann Davies have been vocal in their words about the firm’s pylon schemes.  However it is utterly ludicrous that the Council they run as the Cabinet has not just been slow to act but is actively funding Bute Energy.

“Carmarthenshire County Council holds the key to killing off Bute Energy’s schemes as they are the consenting authority for the sub-stations which will connect them to the national grid.  This is why residents are so concerned about a conflict of interest.  Moreover, we believe that the withdrawal of Carmarthenshire’s investment would have a domino effect on Bute Energy’s funding. 

“Cllr Price and Cllr Davies have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership on this issue by pulling Carmarthenshire’s funds out of Bute Energy.  Instead we have the town hall farce whereby they claim, on the one hand there is nothing they can do; but state that their representative on the pension board, which Carmarthenshire itself runs, will have some “stern words”.  If Carmarthenshire is serious about making Bute Energy listen to residents then they should immediately follow Powys’s lead and disinvest. 

“The elephant in the room is that Powys County Council, which is also affected by Bute Energy, have managed exclude their pension fund investment.  Darren Price and Ann Davies cannot claim ignorance as Carmarthenshire has one of the largest Wind-industrial zones designated in the whole of Wales in the Welsh Government’s Future Wales 2040 plan.  If it was obvious to Powys this would be a problem then why not to Carmarthenshire’s representatives on the fund?

“This investment generates a direct conflict of interest between the interests of the Council in maximising its return and that of residents in minimising harm.  Bute Energy is already arguing that burying cables will be more expensive.  Lower profits might mean happier residents; but it will also mean lower investment returns to Dyfed Pension funds members many of whom are elected to or are employed by Carmarthenshire County Council. 

It is time for Cllr Price and Cllr Ann Davies to end the excuses and take action that Bute Energy will understand.  So far the most decisive action we’ve seen from Plaid Cymru on Bute has been to give Bute Energy’s Public Affairs Adviser a well-paid job for life in the House of Lords.  Residents deserve deeds not empty words form our Plaid Cymru politicians in County Hall.”

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

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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

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Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

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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.

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Local Government

Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works

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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.

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