PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL’S new Leader, Cllr Tessa Hodgson, has confirmed her Cabinet.

Cllr Hodgson, the first woman to lead the authority, was elected at the council’s Annual General Meeting on Friday (May 15).

Cllr Jon Harvey, who did not seek re-election as Leader, returns to Cabinet with responsibility for finance.

Cllr Paul Miller remains Deputy Leader and takes on the Education and Regeneration portfolio.

Education had previously been held by Cllr Guy Woodham, who has decided to step down from Cabinet.

New communities role

Cllrs Aaron Carey, who represents Pembroke Monkton and St Mary South, and Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, member for Tenby South, have joined the Cabinet.

They will share responsibility for a newly-created Communities portfolio.

Cllr Hodgson said: “Our new Cabinet will build on the experience of the previous executive, with the new additions of Cllr Skyrme-Blackhall and Cllr Carey, two experienced councillors who will bring new energy and ideas in their newly-formed portfolio area of Communities.

“Around the Cabinet table I am confident we have the experience and knowledge to get straight back to work for the people of Pembrokeshire.

“I also want to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks and appreciation to Cllr Woodham for all his work as the Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language.”

Full Cabinet

The full Cabinet and portfolios are:

Cllr Tessa Hodgson – Leader of Council

Cllr Paul Miller – Deputy Leader, Education and Regeneration

Cllr Jon Harvey – Finance

Cllr Marc Tierney – Young People and Well-being of Future Generations

Cllr Rhys Sinnett – Residents’ Services

Cllr Michelle Bateman – Housing

Cllr Jacob Williams – Planning and Highways

Cllr Alistair Cameron – Adult Social Care, Safeguarding and the Welsh Language

Cllr Aaron Carey – Communities, job share with Cllr Skyrme-Blackhall

Cllr Sam Skyrme-Blackhall – Communities, job share with Cllr Carey

Cabinet will meet for the first time on Wednesday (May 27).

Caption:

Pembrokeshire County Council’s new Cabinet: Cllr Rhys Sinnett was unavailable for the photograph.

RESIDENTS’ concerns over speeding and anti-social driving have prompted planned enforcement action in the Newport and Dinas areas.

Dyfed-Powys Police Roads Policing Unit and the GoSafe enforcement van are expected to carry out speed checks over the coming month following complaints raised with county councillor Huw Murphy, Newport Town Council and Dinas Community Council.

The operation is aimed at deterring motorists from excessive speed and anti-social driving, as well as taking enforcement action where offences are detected.

Drivers caught exceeding the speed limit could face sanctions ranging from a warning to a court summons, depending on the seriousness of the offence. More serious breaches of road traffic law can result in substantial fines and possible disqualification.

Police have not released specific dates or locations for the enforcement activity.

Cllr Murphy told The Herald that motorists who drive within the law have nothing to fear.

Most police vehicles are now fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology, increasing the likelihood of detecting vehicles being driven without valid insurance, MOT or vehicle excise licence.

Speeding remains one of the “Fatal Five” factors linked to serious injury and fatal collisions on UK roads. The others are careless driving, drink or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and using a mobile phone while driving.

Cllr Murphy said: “Residents have raised concerns regarding excess speed and anti-social driving, and I am grateful to Dyfed-Powys Police and GoSafe for responding to these concerns.

“The aim of this enforcement activity is to improve road safety for everyone and to encourage motorists to drive responsibly and within the speed limits.

“If they do not, and are caught, then they will have to face the consequences.”

A CALL has been lodged for the contentious DARC ‘space radar’ scheme in Pembrokeshire to be decided by Welsh Government rather than county planners.

In an application recently submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council following a public consultation, the Ministry of Defence wants to install 27 radar antenna and a long list of associated works at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy for a worldwide network of sensors called the Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC) to track active satellites and other objects which would utilise three sites worldwide, part of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership, in the USA, the UK and Australia “enabling 360-degree coverage of the sky at all times of day and under any weather conditions”.

In late 2023, Cawdor Barracks was identified as the preferred UK site by the-then UK Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps.

A supporting statement says of the DARC scheme: “This capability is critical to protect and defend the services provided by satellites, ensuring continuity and resilience against collisions or debris-related incidents.

“Without DARC, the UK faces a significant risk of losing access to these vital services, which would have severe consequences for national security, economic stability, and public safety.”

It says the scheme would create 90 full time equivalent construction jobs, and, when operational, will result in the creation of 60 full time equivalent jobs including operation, maintenance and security staff.

St Davids City Council members recently unanimously opposed the pre-application consultation proposals, and public objectors have raised concerns with protests recently taking place outside the barracks and County Hall, Haverfordwest, and former First Minister Eluned Morgan called for the scheme to be put on hold while Donald Trump is President of the USA.

Campaign group PARC against DARC, set up in 2024 to oppose scheme, has submitted an official request to ‘call in’ the application for DARC radar to the newly formed Plaid Cymru Welsh government, citing what it describes as “an extremely promising step forward for the campaign with an anti-DARC Plaid Cymru government now elected in the Senedd”.

A ‘call-in’ means the application could be decided at Welsh Government level rather than by county planners.

Campaigners argue that DARC should be called in to Welsh Government on the basis that it is “clearly a nationally significant development that lies well outside of the scope for consideration of Pembrokeshire County Council alone,” urging that it is called in so that a “fair and appropriate consideration of the suitability of a development that is so widely opposed can be placed within the context of the national priorities of Wales going forward”.

Plaid Cymru voted at their national conference in October 2024 to take action to oppose the project.

Anyone wishing to comment on the application before the county council has until May 20.

Pembrokeshire-based Jerome Flynn, who was first famous for his roles in Soldier Soldier, Robson & Jerome and more recently Game Of Thrones has  described the scheme as “the most unspeakably abominable planning application led by the US military, backed by Donald Trump to place 27 radar dishes right on the edge of our beloved coastal national park”.