PLAID CYMRU has urged voters in Sir Gaerfyrddin to back the party on Thursday, claiming it is the only party able to beat Reform UK in the new constituency.

The appeal comes after the latest ITV Cymru Wales, YouGov and Wales Governance Centre MRP poll suggested Plaid Cymru is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, with Reform close behind. The poll put Plaid on 33% across Wales and Reform on 29%. (YouGov)

Sir Gaerfyrddin is one of the new Senedd constituencies being used for the first time in this election. It has been created from the Carmarthen and Llanelli Westminster seats and will elect six Members of the Senedd under the new closed-list system.

Plaid Cymru’s list in Sir Gaerfyrddin is led by Cefin Campbell, followed by Nerys Evans, Adam Price and Mari Arthur. (Who Can I Vote For?)

The party says the contest locally is now between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, and has called on voters who want to stop Nigel Farage’s party from gaining ground in Carmarthenshire to “lend” Plaid their vote.

Nerys Evans said Plaid was offering “new leadership” and a “positive vision” for Wales, including childcare support, a National Development Agency to grow the economy, and a new numeracy and literacy scheme for children.

She said: “As the voters of Sir Gaerfyrddin head to the polls on Thursday, the choice could not be more stark.

“Only two parties can win here: Plaid Cymru, who offer new leadership, a positive vision, and which will be accountable only to the people of Wales; or Reform, which would divide our communities, threaten the future of our NHS, cut support for our culture and language and is controlled by Nigel Farage, billionaires, and ex-Tories in London.

“Support for Labour has disappeared in Carmarthenshire, with people unwilling to vote for a party that has let Wales down for over 27 years and in Westminster since Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.

“There is no evidence that the Greens or the Liberal Democrats will secure enough votes to come close to winning a seat.

“We ask anyone who wants to prevent a victory for Reform in Carmarthenshire to lend their vote to Plaid Cymru on Thursday.”

The Senedd election takes place on Thursday (May 7).

A DEVELOPMENT call for a Pembrokeshire holiday park has been turned down by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

In an application to park planners, Broad Haven Holiday Park, through agent Gerald Blain Associates, sought permission for the relocation of a boat storage area, vehicle shed and play area along with rewilding of adjoining fields at Broad Haven Holiday Park, Broad Haven, near Haverfordwest.

The application was supported by local community council The Havens.

However, an officer report recommended refusal.

Detailing the application, it said: “The proposal relates to the extension of an existing static caravan holiday site into adjacent undeveloped woodland to accommodate the relocation of boat storage, a vehicle shed, and a children’s play area, together with associated ecological mitigation measures. No increased pitch numbers are proposed.

“The development site has already undergone some site clearance, resulting in the removal of approximately 1,000 square metres of woodland.”

It went on to say: “The existing site is already intervisible with the coast, and the proposed relocation of boat storage would likely increase its visibility rather than reduce it. Without supporting evidence in the form of a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) or Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) demonstrating that the development would be visually contained, the proposal appears contrary to the guidance contained within the SPG and the objectives of Policy 41.

“As a result, the proposed development is considered to detract from the special qualities of the National Park in this location and would be detrimental to the quality and character of the landscape character area in which the site sits, and as such does not comply [with policies].”

The application was refused on grounds including it being sited within previously undeveloped land within a flood zone, a lack of information on potential impacts on biodiversity, and it is “considered to detract from the special qualities of the national park in this location and would be detrimental to the quality and character of the landscape character area in which the site sits”.

CALLS for permission to replace a decayed spiral staircase preventing access to the top of Pembrokeshire’s historic Hean Castle mansion have been submitted.

In a listed building application submitted to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, The Trustees of T O Lewis Trust, through agent Acanthus Holden Architects, seeks permission for the removal of a decayed timber spiral staircase and replacement in aluminium, along with pointing and masonry repairs to a flue turret, stairs turret and s bay at the Grade-II-listed Hean Castle, near Saundersfoot.

A supporting statement accompanying the application says the works planned will reinstate the spiral stairs access to the main castle tower, the scheme “aimed at reducing moisture ingress through the thin, walled turrets a replacing a rotten timber spiral staircase 13m tall”.

It says the upper third of the wooden treads in the “existing and very possibly the original spiral staircase” are “now badly decayed where they slot into the equally rotten stringers at this level, to the point that safe access to the turret top is no longer safe”.

It adds: “The replacement of the stairs in timber is a difficult and a very costly exercise with all fabrication and erection carried out likely to have been carried out originally on site. Accessing the turret at high level on the outside is also very difficult and only limited repointing will be possible.

“Ongoing water ingress into the turret would likely lead to further rotting of the replacement timber stairs in the near future.

“Two options have been considered for the replacement of the stairs in metal: Aluminium and Galvanised steel, both with similar cost implications.

“Aluminium is favoured and an acceptable quote has been received for the supply of a sectional staircase with ‘made to measure’ hard wood timber treads bolted to the Newell brackets. The made-to-measure treads will allow us a degree of flexibility with regard to any variance in the diameter of the ‘tube’.”

It says the proposed works will secure long-term sustainability, improve accessibility, and address urgent fabric defects.

The application will be considered by park planners at a later date.