A STATEMENT has been issued by Cllr Mike Harry in response to a petition calling for his resignation, which was handed in during the Neyland Town Council meeting on Monday (Jan 13). The petition, organised by Mrs P Percival-Maxwell, accuses Cllr Harry of making inappropriate remarks and creating division within the council.

In his detailed statement, Cllr Harry rejected the allegations, describing the petition as “factually incorrect” and part of a targeted effort to discredit him and further destabilise the council.

Cllr Harry explained that his email, which is at the centre of the controversy, was a response to what he described as “insulting and threatening” messages from fellow councillors Brian Rothero, Steve Thomas, and David Devauden. He clarified that the term “degenerates” referred specifically to those individuals, who he accuses of relentless bullying and harassment of the Town Clerk, not Neyland residents.

He also pointed out that the “constituents” referred to in the petition are, in fact, a group of five individuals who attended an unauthorised meeting and whom he alleges are regulars at a local pub owned by Cllr Rothero.

Cllr Harry claimed that the ongoing behaviour of Cllrs Rothero, Thomas, and Devauden has rendered the council dysfunctional and unable to serve the people of Neyland effectively. He described their actions as consistently disruptive, highlighting the negative impact on the Town Clerk and the council’s ability to progress key matters.

“I’d simply had enough and had to finally call it out for what it is,” he stated, noting that his email was directed at a total of eight individuals who, in his view, show no interest in the council’s proper functioning.

Cllr Harry, who has served on Neyland Town Council for nearly 20 years, emphasised his dedication to the community and its residents. “The interests of the residents of Neyland have always been paramount to me,” he said. He expressed frustration over the current tensions within the council, calling the situation “particularly difficult and insulting” and not reflective of why he became a councillor.

The petition has deepened divisions within Neyland, with some residents supporting Cllr Harry’s defence and others standing by the petition’s call for his resignation. The issue highlights broader concerns about the council’s internal dynamics and its ability to address key issues for the community.

PLANS for disability-friendly holiday lodges at a Pembrokeshire deer park attraction which could be a Wales tourism “benchmark” have been backed, but a final decision is likely to rest with full council.

In an application recommended for refusal at the January 14 meeting of Pembrokeshire County council’s planning committee, Mr and Mrs Evans are seeking permission for 15 lodges at Great Wedlock, Gumfreston, near Tenby, the site of a 176-acre deer farm attraction, which includes animals from the late Queen’s estate, and a more recently-granted market traders’ barn.

An earlier application for the lodges was recommended for refusal by officers at last July’s planning meeting, but, at the start of that meeting, members heard the application had been withdrawn at the agent’s behest.

Reasons for refusal given to members included it was outside of an identified settlement boundary in a countryside location, it was considered to have an adverse impact on visual amenity and did not include a Green Infrastructure statement.

The applicants have previously said build costs to complete the development would be circa £2m.

Following the withdrawal, amended proposals have been submitted by the applicants through agent Atriarc Planning, following a consultation recently held with St Florence Community Council.

St Florence Community Council did not support the previous application, but has supported the latest scheme.

Speaking at the January meeting, Alan Jones, on behalf of the community council, said it was now supporting the “much-improved design” which, amongst other concerns, now addressed the issue of a much wider range of disabilities – including the blind and deaf and hard of hearing – rather than just wheelchair use.

Applicant Andrew Evans told the meeting the proposals would support a whole raft of people with varying disabilities, Great Wedlock already taking a “head-on” approach supporting people with disabilities through special vehicles at the deer park, and encouraging people with disabilities to apply for staff vacancies.

“This is not an application for yet another holiday park, it is a well thought out one for those who have a disability, which will make them a majority rather than a minority; it will make us at the forefront for people in Wales to visit with a disability.”

Local member, Cllr Rhys Jordan moved the application be supported in spite of an officer recommendation for refusal, saying it was “an opportunity to address a clear shortage [for disability-friendly accommodation] and a chance for Pembrokeshire to lead the way in accessible tourism,” adding: “Most importantly the lodges will be 100 per cent accessible and set a benchmark, positioning Pembrokeshire as a leader in accessible tourism.”

He finished: “Approve this forward-thinking proposal today.”

Officers have recommended planners refuse the scheme, for similar reasons to previously, saying the material considerations put forward in the agent’s supporting planning statement “are not sufficient to overcome the conflict with relevant Development Plan policies”.

Members voted 11 in favour to two against supporting the scheme.

The committee’s backing of the proposal takes the form of a ‘minded to’ support, meaning the proposal will return to a future meeting as it is against an officer recommendation, and, if supported a second time, will ultimately have to be decided by full council, in this case potentially at the March meeting.

The applicants’ previous scheme for the trading barn took an identical route, being decided by full council after repeatedly being recommended for refusal.

COUNCIL chiefs called for a minimum 4% increase in funding for each local authority and three-year settlements to avert the risk of a Welsh council going bust.

Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, warned of “extreme” budget pressures as he appeared before the Senedd’s finance committee on January 15.

He welcomed a £253m uplift in the overall settlement from the Welsh Government but contrasted the increase against a £559m funding gap in the 12 months from April.

He said: “Clearly, the figures show it actually only meets about half of the actual demand for the coming 12 months, so there is going to be significant pressure on local authorities.”

Cllr Morgan, who is leader of the Welsh Local Government Association, the collective voice of Wales’ 22 councils, added: “It is increasingly difficult to be able to explain to the public that we’ve put council tax up while still reducing services.”

He told the committee: “When it comes to council tax, most local authorities are in the range of 5% or upwards for budget planning at least at this stage.

“We are acutely aware of the pressure on local residents in terms of the cost of living, so it is a real dilemma for local authorities.”

Pressed on whether any councils in Wales could issue section 114 (bankruptcy) notices, Cllr Morgan said: “I certainly don’t think there will be any risk of 114 notices in the coming year but that’s not to say that there isn’t a risk there in the medium to long term.”

Asked about Audit Wales’ warning that councils are financially unsustainable, Cllr Morgan called for a three-year settlement to allow planning beyond a 12-month cycle.

He said: “Welsh Government comes out with a provisional settlement in December, that only gives us ten or 12 weeks for us to line up all our ducks in terms of making budgets add up – that’s what’s not sustainable, I would suggest.”

Anthony Hunt, leader of Torfaen council, described the challenge next year as “orders of magnitude different” due to a better-than-expected settlement from the Welsh Government.

He said: “There will be schools that retain staff, there will be services that can be maintained.”

Cllr Hunt told the committee a flat budget or 1% increase, as first feared, would have had “unthinkable” consequences, with “massive” service cuts and redundancies across Wales.

With councils receiving increases ranging from 2.6% to 5.6%, he made the case for a 4% floor which would be funded from outside the settlement at a cost of about £13m.

He emphasised that the 22 principal councils will never be happy with the wider funding formula because there will always be winners and losers.

Lis Burnett, leader of Vale of Glamorgan council, raised the example of hospital discharges.

She said: “I think we’re probably one of the best in Wales now that we can actually get a care package sorted out for people to go home within approximately three days.

“That has been of great benefit to the health board but it basically means that we’re £10m overspent in our social care.”

Turning to education, Cllr Burnett said: “We’re having to be very, very careful in terms of how we rationalise spending for education. The demands, and the complexity of demand, have gone up exponentially – particularly since the pandemic.”

She said her council was “lowest funded by a long way” in terms of education, adding that there is an appetite for reform of the funding formula.

Nia Jeffreys, leader of Gwynedd council, said her local authority has cut £74m over the past decade, nearly a quarter of its day-to-day revenue budget.

Warning of no easy choices, Cllr Jeffreys told the committee: “The efficiency savings have been made already and we’re in a situation now where we’re looking at real-terms cuts … that means stopping doing things and halting services that people rely upon.”

She said Gwynedd and other councils in north Wales are looking at increasing council tax by 8% to 9%, placing a burden on families already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Cllr Jeffreys echoed calls for an “absolutely vital” funding floor, pointing to additional costs of delivering public services in more rural areas.

Asked about increases in employer national insurance contributions, she put the cost to Gwynedd council at about £4.5m.

Cllr Hunt said councils have been assured that they will be given money towards the cost of the rise for directly employed staff.

He stressed: “That national insurance rise is one of the reasons why there’s more money now for public service organisations. And I think we need to be a bit careful not to welcome funding but complain about where it’s come from – it needs to come from somewhere.”

Cllr Morgan said the biggest concern is the money to cover the cost being “Barnettised” (i.e. based on spending in England) which could leave Welsh councils short.

He told the committee education and social care now make up about 70% of all council budgets, suggesting only so much “tinkering” can be done within the other 30%.

He raised concerns about the “eye-watering” costs of children’s care to councils, with some specialist placements costing a five-figure sum each week for every child.