THE PRESIDENT of Pembroke and District Male Voice Choir, Clive Collins, was honoured in style as choristers sang him out at a special concert held at Pembroke Town Hall on Friday (March 27).

Mr Collins, a long-standing and dedicated supporter of the choir, has stepped down from his role after many years of service. Throughout his time as President, he was supported by his wife, Enid.

His final official duty saw him present long service certificates to six choristers, who between them have given a combined 182 years of commitment to the choir.

Tributes were paid by the newly elected chairman, David Halsted, who himself marked an impressive fifty years as a member. In recognition of his service, Mr Collins has been appointed Life Vice President.

The well-attended concert, organised by Pembroke Town Council, raised funds for both the Mayor’s Fund—supporting the purchase of defibrillators—and the choir.

Mayor Gareth Jones welcomed guests to the evening, including Deputy Lord Lieutenant Dr Chris Martin and civic representatives from across the county.

Despite reduced numbers due to illness, the choir delivered a strong performance. The baritone section—Gerry Gommo, Ron Rees and Ed Morris—performed admirably in their solo parts, while first tenor Paul Owen made his choir debut.

The programme, selected by Musical Director Juliet Rossiter, was warmly received, with accompaniment from the Rev William Lambert. Compère Matthew John continued recent tradition by inviting audience participation for the Elvis Presley classic American Trilogy, with five volunteers stepping forward—including his father, Steve.

Guest soloist Donna Jones, from Llanfallteg, made her first appearance with the choir and impressed with a varied selection of songs ranging from Broadway to Bob Dylan and traditional English folk. Choristers expressed hopes of working with her again in the future.

Thanks were extended to Suzie Thomas and Kaylee White of Pembroke Town Council, along with choir secretary David Powell, for their work in organising the event.

More than £900 was raised during what was described as a highly successful musical evening.

A PETITION call for a public commitment to save Pembrokeshire’s River Cleddau which has attracted more than 2,200 signatures, has been backed by councillors.

The e-petition on Pembrokeshire County Council’s own website, started by James Harrison-Allen, said: “We call on Pembrokeshire County Council to create and enact a Clean Rivers Policy to restore the Cleddau to good health after decades of neglect and degradation.

“The Cleddau flows through the heart of Pembrokeshire, including our county town, and is the foundation for Pembrokeshire’s prosperity. The river is failing, and we need to act now to save it from irreversible decline.

“What’s the problem? The Cleddau rivers and estuary are the worst (and worsening) polluted SAC (Special Area of Conservation) designated rivers in Wales; worse even than the Wye and the Usk (NRW Water Assessment Report 2024), and considerably worse than the neighbouring Towy and Teifi.

“Damaging impacts on Pembrokeshire’s economy, public health and the natural environment. Ineffective regulation; monitoring, responding, policing, enforcement and prosecutions. What should PCC be doing to address this? Make a formal, public commitment to cleaning up the Cleddau. Make the health of the Cleddau central.”

The now closed e-petition attracted 2,238 signatures; any petition of more than 500 being heard at full council, with members of the March meeting hearing the call from Mr Harrison-Allen.

Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller said he was happy to support “the principal ask to make a public commitment to cleaning up the river,” stressing that while primary responsibility lay with Natural Resources Wales, the council still had an important part to play, adding that measures at improving its quality were already underway.

Moving the petition be referred to the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Di Clements stressed its “special place” quality.

Members unanimously agreed the petition be referred to the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee for adding to its forward work programme for the June meeting.

Last year, Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, called for “urgent” action to tackle the poor state of the River Cleddau when he chaired a discussion bringing together key stakeholders, environmental experts, and community voices to address the issues surrounding water quality and pollution.

The panel event, organised by local river action group The Cleddau Project, covered topics including pollution sources, enforcement failures, and potential solutions to improve the river’s health.

CHANGES to previously-approved plans to rebuild a fire-ravaged Pembrokeshire seaside pub have been refused, in part due to fears they could place a protected seabird species at “significant risk of injury or death”.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Builders Crown Ltd, through agent A.D Architectural Design Consultants Ltd, sought a variation of a 2024-approved scheme for alterations and refurbishment works to the Duke of Edinburgh Inn, Newgale, following a severe fire earlier that year.

The amendments sought in the latest application included enlarging the first-floor level of accommodation and various changes to fenestration and external access.

The Duke of Edinburgh was severely damaged during a blaze in the early hours of January 16, 2024.

The fire burned through the roof of the two-storey building which consisted of the ground floor pub with accommodation above, causing significant damage.

It took fire crews from St Davids, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and Fishguard crews around six hours to bring the blaze under control.

Local community council Nolton and Roch supported the proposed works to the pub approved in 2024, describing The Duke of Edinburgh as “synonymous to Newgale”.

Since that overall approval, the amendment scheme was submitted, but officers recommended those proposed changes be refused, saying they were “considered by officers to be unsympathetic to the landscape and seascape and would prove to be excessive in bulk due to the proposed first-floor balconies and other associated exterior alterations”.

A report added: “The increase in fenestration and the proposed glass frontage for The Duke of Edinburgh Inn would likely cause detrimental impacts on Manx Shearwater populations through excessive light pollution, potentially disorienting protected species and putting them at significant risk of injury or death. The proposed development is considered to have a significant adverse impact on design, scale, light pollution, and biodiversity.”

It said both the park’s ecologist and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales had “significant concerns” about the impact on the protested species, with artificial light “known to attract seabirds, potentially leading to grounding events,” adding: “The additional roof lights, the level of glazing, and the glass frontage of the proposed development are major concerns because they increase the amount of artificial light on the site.”

Skomer and Skokholm and Seas off Pembrokeshire Special Protection Area (SPA) and the Skomer Island and Middleholm SSSI and the Skokholm Island SSSI support the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in England and Wales and hold the largest breeding colony of Manx Shearwater on earth, approximately 60 per cent of the world population, the report said.

Fledgling Manx Shearwaters can be disorientated by excessive light pollution resulting in collisions with structures and the birds becoming grounded, which can result in a loss of life.

The amendment application was refused on the grounds “the excessive scale and elevated nature of the proposed fenestration will potentially cause significant light pollution that would have a detrimental impact on Manx Shearwater populations by disorienting them and putting them at significant risk of injury or death,” and the proposal “will have a significant overbearing impact on the visual amenity of this site and its surrounding landscape”.

Mid and West Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) immediately undertook a fire investigation to determine the cause of the 2024 fire, with no suspicious circumstances found.

Earlier this year, The Duke of Edinburgh Inn was placed on the market through estate agent Sidney Phillips with a guide price of £325,000.