News

Council approves ‘ill-conceived’ rise

Published

9 years ago

November 26, 2014

THE COUNCIL’s Licensing Committee has agreed to adopt a single fare rate across the board for all taxis in the county. The decision was taken at Thursday’s Licensing Committee despite objections from a number of cab drivers with one objector describing the rise in fares as ‘illconceived’. Representatives of taxis firms from Haverfordwest, Tenby, Saundersfoot, Pembroke and Milford Haven attended the meeting. Following a complaint from a disabled person who had been charged with additional fares it was considered that the council was in breach of the equalities act.

The committee therefore made the decision to reduce the number of rates from eight to four and adopt a rate table to similar rate to other authorities in Wales. The Council’s Director of Development added that the change would help them comply with the Equality Act 2010. The tariff for 4-person vehicles will be charged at £4.10 for the first mile with an additional 20p for each 118 yards covered after. Tariffs for vehicles with five to eight passengers will also see a rise. For eight passengers in one car the tariff 1 charge currently stands at £3.50 but the new tariff will be double to £7.00. Tariff 2 for the same amount of passengers will rise from £4.60 for the first mile to £10.00, an increase of 117.39%.

Gary Slack, from Gary’s Taxis, spoke on behalf of objectors saying: “The ramifications will be spread wide across all areas. Contracts such as school runs will now be seen as overcharging. There is a very real chance that if costs aren’t met there is a real concern that some of these vehicles will be forced off the road. How can you charge £10 for one mile? This is an ill-conceived table of fares. This is ludicrous, we don’t want to charge that much. There will be no end of complaints. With these new proposals it would be cheaper to have two cars rather than one, the whole set up is ridiculous.

All this is to do with one complaint.” Cllr Wynne Evans said: “I am quite concerned about some of this; some of this is a little bit worrying.” Cllr Reg Owens added: “One incident was reported and this is very much an over-reaction to it. We wouldn’t have access throughout the county if it wasn’t for these people. It could be about, going round on an area basis educating taxi drivers and put everyone straight to make them more comfortable. It is a much needed service and I would urge common sense.” Cllr Peter Stock said: “I have great concerns about this.

This is an important issue and I want it to be a fair balance for the whole of Pembrokeshire.” The meeting then went into private session where members discussed the proposed charges in greater detail. After the meeting had reconvened, Cllr Jon Davies said: “We need to be as fair as we can. We should comply and after twelve months we will review this decision.” Cllr Daphne Bush added: “This is the safest route and we are trying to do things fairly at the moment.” Cllr Reg Owens then moved that they implement the proposals set forward by the taxi drivers and review it in twelve months’ time. That was supported by Cllr Stock but when it came to the vote no one else gave their support and the motion was dismissed.

Cllr Owens went on to say: “The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) is enforced now. Everybody should adhere to it. We’ve got to comply with the DDA and a bit of education wouldn’t go amiss; a lot of people are ignorant of it.” Cllr Davies’ motion was then voted on with six supporting and three voting against. Speaking after the meeting, Gary Slack said they would hope to go to the Ombudsman about the decision and added that they would be seeking compensation from the council. The new tariffs will take effect from October 20.

News

Welsh Lib Dems urge First Minister to return dodgy donation

Published

9 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the First Minister to return the £200,000 donation he received from a company linked to environmental crimes.

Speaking to the Senedd on Wednesday, party leader Jane Dodds MS urged FM Vaughan Gething to return money donated to his campaign by Dauson Environmental, a refuse and recycling business owned by David John Neal.

Mr Neal received a 3-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste at a conservation site on the Gwent levels.

His companies Atlantic Recycling and Neal Soil Suppliers were also prosecuted and given fines and costs of £202,000.

Then in 2017, Mr Neal was given another suspended sentence of 18 weeks, with fines and costs of £230,000 after failing to remove the waste.

The Welsh Lib Dems have called on the FM to return the donation, as part of wider calls for a shift away from the influence of “big money” in Welsh politics.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“This entire episode has casted a dark shadow upon Welsh democracy and has rightfully led to many questioning the integrity of Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign and the way our democracy works here in Wales.

Unfortunately for many of us this is hardly surprising, as our political system has been broken for quite some time now.

A system that empowers the elite donor class whilst simultaneously shutting out the voice of the voter is a perversion of democracy itself.

This is why our wider goal must be to remove the influence of ‘big money’ from Welsh politics once and for all.

We cannot have another government that prioritises the interests of its financial benefactors over those of the Welsh people.

We need to take a firm stance in rooting out the influence of cash in Welsh politics, for the sake of our communities we must start prioritising their interests and needs instead of having more self-serving politicians.”

News

Council seeking legal advice to address Withyhedge enforcement

Published

9 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council says it has sought legal advice and is contemplating legal proceedings against Withyhedge Landfill operators RML, in regards to the ongoing odour issues at the site.

The Council intends to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to abate the public nuisance odour arising from the landfill. Failure to comply with the injunction would be contempt of court, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment and unlimited fine.

Following significant work undertaken by RML the Authority is disappointed that the problem has not been resolved and residents continue to be impacted by the odour.

Working in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW), we fully appreciate that the communities affected cannot tolerate this any longer.

NRW announced that the first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action on 18th April.

This will be closely monitored by NRW to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May.

It was deemed appropriate to wait until the operator had carried out mitigation to comply with the enforcement requirements by NRW prior to considering this additional action.

To that end, on 26th April 2024, the Council served RML with a letter of claim and invited them to give legally binding undertakings to abate the odour nuisance or face legal proceedings. The Council also asked for disclosure of documents relevant to the proceedings, including records of waste brought in or removed from the landfill.

The Council has given RML until 14th May 2024 to respond to its letter of claim. This aligns with the current deadline set by NRW under its enforcement notice.

Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive Will Bramble welcomed the move. He said: “We are extremely disappointed that RML has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable smells from the site.

“We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation.

“Our intention to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to stop the odour nuisance arising from the landfill, is another part of our collaborative approach. The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.”

News

Beautiful, funny and lovely: Family pay tribute to Sian Batchelor

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE family of a woman has paid tribute to a “beautiful, funny, lovely person.”

Sian Batchelor, aged 32, was found on a beach near Pennar, Pembroke Dock on Tuesday evening, April 30^th, 2024.

Her family has issued a statement to say: ‘We are devastated by our loss. Sian was a beautiful, funny, loving person. We will treasure the good times we had with her.

“We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so.”

The circumstances surrounding Sian’s death are being investigated and police would like to hear from anyone with information, sightings of Sian or contact from Sian, between Thursday April 25 to Tuesday April 30.

Police can be contacted either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908.

Quote reference: DP-20240430-284