A PETITION call for a public commitment to save Pembrokeshire’s River Cleddau will be heard by full council next year.

The e-petition, started by James Harrison-Allen, says: “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.”

Earlier this 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.

The panel included representatives from Afonydd Cymru, Welsh Water, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Cardiff University, and First Milk.

More than 150 people gathered at Haverfordwest Rugby Club just days after NRW declared the Cleddau the worst performing of the protected rivers in Wales.

Speaking after the event, Mr Tufnell, said: “The Cleddau is a vital natural resource, and last night’s discussion highlighted the urgent need for action.

“The insight shared by our expert panel and members of the community reinforced the importance of tackling pollution at its source and ensuring our regulatory bodies are held accountable.

“I am committed to continuing this fight for cleaner water and a healthier environment for future generations.”

The petition runs up to February 1, and had attracted 1,678 signatures as of December 16.

If a petition gets 500 signatures, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a future full council meeting; more than 100 will trigger a debate at a council overview and scrutiny committee.

An extraordinary council meeting has been hastily scheduled after a bungled report left the authority racing to meet the April 1 rent increase deadline

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is to rescind and re-vote on a key decision setting council house rents after it emerged that councillors were provided with incorrect information in an official report.

The error relates to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Rent and Service Charge report approved by Council on Thursday (Dec 12), which contained inaccurate data in one of its appendices.

In an email sent to councillors on Tuesday (Dec 23), the Council’s Chief Executive, William Bramble CBE, confirmed that Appendix 2, Table 1 of the report was wrongly labelled as showing proposed 2025 rent levels when it in fact listed 2024 standard rents. He added that some of the incorrect data also appeared elsewhere in the report.

The Housing Revenue Account is a ring-fenced council budget used specifically to manage council-owned housing. It covers income from tenants’ rents and service charges, and pays for housing management, maintenance, repairs, improvements, and the building or acquisition of new council homes. By law, HRA money cannot be used for other council services.

Each year, councillors are required to approve proposed rent and service charge levels for council tenants through the HRA process. These decisions directly affect how much tenants pay and how much funding is available for housing services.

While Mr Bramble said he did not believe the error would have changed the recommendations or the original decision taken by Council, he said it was necessary for the matter to be reconsidered formally using accurate information.

As a result, councillors will now be asked to rescind the December decision and vote again on rent levels based on corrected data.

An extraordinary Council meeting has been scheduled for 2:00pm on Tuesday (Jan 21) 2026. The meeting will be held remotely and will consider a revised report containing the accurate rent figures.

Mr Bramble said the decision to reconvene Council followed discussions with the Head of Service, the Deputy Monitoring Officer, the Section 151 Officer and the Presiding Member.

He said the re-vote must take place before new rent notices are issued to tenants. Council tenants are legally required to be given at least two months’ notice of any rent changes, meaning notifications need to be sent out before the beginning of February.

For tenants, the immediate impact is that rent levels for the next financial year cannot be finalised until councillors vote again. While the Council has indicated that the proposed rents may remain unchanged, the formal decision cannot stand because it was based on incorrect information.

The Chief Executive said the error was identified by the officer who originally prepared the appendix and was reported as soon as it was discovered.

Describing the mistake as “very regrettable”, Mr Bramble said he is now reviewing the matter with the Senior Leadership Team to consider how greater assurance can be provided over the accuracy of reports presented to councillors in future.

A WELSH GOVERNMENT planning inspector has dismissed appeals relating to unauthorised works at the Imperial Function Centre at Milford Haven’s Masonic Hall, upholding an enforcement notice issued by Pembrokeshire County Council.

The decision, issued on Monday (Dec 15), follows two linked appeals by the venue’s operator against the council. One appeal sought retrospective planning permission for engineering works to create an external dining area, while the second challenged an enforcement notice requiring alterations to the development.

Both appeals were dismissed.

The site, located on Hamilton Terrace, lies within the Milford Haven Conservation Area and adjoins the Grade II listed Masonic Hall building.

The development included the construction of a raised terrace fronted by a smooth rendered retaining wall with a glass balustrade above. Planning permission for an earlier scheme involving a sloping landscaped embankment and fencing had been granted in April 2021, but the approved design was later altered.

In his ruling, Inspector R H Duggan concluded that the retaining wall caused significant harm to the setting of the listed building and failed to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area.

He found that the wall was visually intrusive, projected forward of the established building line along Hamilton Terrace and detracted from the historic street scene.

While the inspector considered that the glass balustrade itself was not harmful in isolation, he ruled that it did not overcome the overall harm caused by the retaining wall.

The appeal was also dismissed on residential amenity grounds. The inspector found that parts of the terrace allowed direct overlooking into neighbouring properties, particularly No. 42 Hamilton Terrace, resulting in an unacceptable loss of privacy.

He concluded that this impact alone would have justified refusal, even if heritage concerns had not applied.

The second appeal, made against an enforcement notice issued by Pembrokeshire County Council in June 2025, sought additional time to comply with the notice. The inspector ruled that the original compliance period of 90 days was reasonable and should stand.

As a result, the operator is now required to remove the rendered retaining wall and glass balustrade, reinstate a sloping earth bank with turf, reposition sections of the balustrade and install a close-boarded fence along part of the boundary.

The inspector acknowledged that the development offered economic and social benefits, including improved accessibility and outdoor facilities, but concluded that these were outweighed by the harm identified.

Pembrokeshire County Council has responsibility for monitoring compliance with the enforcement notice.