A CALL for a storage container for a “well-established and valued” Pembrokeshire children’s nursery in a nearby cemetery has been submitted to county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Diane Evans of Meithrinfa Do Re Mi Nursery seeks permission for the installation of a storage container, partially in retrospect, at Horeb Cemetery, Station Road, Letterston.

A supporting statement says: “The container is required to provide essential ancillary storage to support the lawful and established nursery use within the [nearby] chapel building.

“The site forms part of an active cemetery, owned and managed by a group of trustees. The applicant is one of the trustees and has obtained formal permission from the trustees for the container to be sited on this land. The area selected previously comprised a large, longstanding mound of garden waste which has now been removed. The land has been levelled and prepared with a hard-standing base.

“The container will be used solely for storage of nursery equipment and materials, including outdoor learning resources, maintenance equipment, and items required to manage both the nursery grounds and the cemetery land. No additional operational activity will take place within or around the container.”

It adds: “The day nursery provides childcare for approximately 83 children from the local community and employs 21 staff, all of whom live locally. The nursery is a well-established and valued community facility, supporting local families and contributing positively to the local economy. Adequate storage is essential to ensure the safe, efficient and compliant operation of the nursery. The chapel building itself has limited internal storage, making external ancillary storage necessary.”

It says the nursery “operates with a strong community focus and promotes sustainability and environmental awareness,” with plans to soften its appearance through the planting of trees, shrubs and flowers.

It added: “Children will take part in a ‘sow, grow and give’ project, growing cut flowers from seed. These flowers will be made available to the community, particularly visitors to the cemetery, who will be invited to cut flowers to place on the graves of loved ones. This initiative enhances biodiversity, strengthens community links, and adds social value to the cemetery space.”

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

EMERGENCY general emergency surgery is to be removed from Pembrokeshire’s Withybush hospital as part of a wide range of changes backed following by Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Last year, the Health Board consulted with its communities on options for change in critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

It said its Clinical Services Plan focuses on nine healthcare services that are “fragile and in need of change”.

At the launch of the consultation it said the services, and potential changes at the four main hospitals of Haverfordwest’s Withybush, Carmarthen’s Glangwili, Llanelli’s Prince Philip and Aberystwyth’s Bronglais, would see no changes to how people access emergency care (A&E) or minor injury care as part of the consultation.

These nine clinical services were selected because of risks to them being able to continue to offer safe, high-quality services, or care in a timely manner, the board has previously said.

The proposed changes included an option for Withybush patients needing specialist critical care being transferred to Glangwili.

Another option, in Ceredigion, included the loss of Bronglais’s stroke service, becoming a ‘treat and transfer’ hospital, with patients transferred to other hospitals in the board area, including Withybush for their inpatient stroke care.

During the consultation, communities shared an additional 190 alternative ideas for the services, which have been narrowed down to 22 alternatives to the multiple options outlined in the consultation.

At a two-day meeting into the proposed changes, held on February 18 and 19, the board backed changes into emergency general surgery which will see no emergency general surgery operations taking place at Withybush, but a strengthening of the same-day emergency care (SDEC).

For the other three hospitals, there would be no change in emergency general surgery provision, other than a strengthening of SDEC at Glangwili.

Members stressed the changes would not happen overnight, with the board hearing from chief executive Phil Kloer the changes were about “improving the quality of service for the public,” adding a Pembrokeshire public-preferred option of emergency general surgery operations taking place on alternate weeks, with a similar arrangement at Glangwili, had raised concerns from clinicians and managers.

The Board also backed changes to the critical care service, which will see the current intensive care units situation remaining the same at all hospitals other than Prince Philip, which will see the Intensive care unit (with transfer of sickest patients) changed to an enhanced care unit.

Reacting to the change, local Senedd member Paul Davies MS: “I’m appalled that Hywel Dda University Health Board has voted to remove general emergency services from Withybush hospital – but I’m not surprised.

“The Health Board is obsessed with removing services from Pembrokeshire and has spent years downgrading and removing services from Withybush hospital. As one constituent has rightly said, the Board should be rebranded the Carmarthenshire Health Board, as it continues to strip assets from other hospitals in west Wales.”

He added: “Removing general emergency services critically undermines the sustainability of Withybush hospital’s A&E department and will result in patients having to be transported for urgent treatment.

“This is not acceptable – I will be taking this to the Welsh Government and urging Ministers to intervene and stop the Health Board from making this catastrophic decision.”

PEMBROKE & MONKTON Local History Society will welcome a leading Tudor historian to its next meeting on Saturday, March 7, promising a fascinating insight into the lives of women in the sixteenth century.

Guest speaker Melita Thomas will present a talk titled The Life and Times of Tudor Women, drawing on research from her acclaimed book 1000 Tudor People. The talk will explore the social, legal, political and economic challenges faced by women during the Tudor period, while also examining how some were able to carve out their own paths in areas such as trade, literature and even warfare.

Organisers say the event will offer a fresh perspective on whether Tudor women’s lives were as restricted as often portrayed, highlighting both the hardships and opportunities of the era.

Melita is the founder of the popular Tudor Times website and a member of the Tudor Players performance group. Alongside researching and writing books, she is currently undertaking a PhD at University College London.

Doors open at 10:00am for coffee, with the talk beginning at 11:00am. The event takes place at Pembroke Town Hall, where the Pembroke Museum and Council Chamber — located on the first floor — will also be open to visitors. A lift is available for disabled access.

The society has also announced that Pembroke Museum has reopened following its winter closure. The museum is open from 10:00am to 12:30pm Monday to Friday, with hours extended until 3:00pm from Easter. Entry is free.

For more information, visit www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk or follow the society on Facebook. Enquiries can be sent to [email protected].