PLANS to turn a former joke and fancy-dress shop in a Pembrokeshire seaside town to office space for an estate agent have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Giles Birt of Birt and Co, through agent David J P Morgan RIBA Architect, sought permission for a change of the of the former Griggles shop, Ventnor House, Warren Street, Tenby to office use.

The application included a new first floor office space, replacement windows and shopfront, and repairs to fabric.

Griggles, a joke and fancy-dress Mecca in the town for decades, closed back in 2019 when Roland Grigg retired after running the shop since 1970.

Tenby Town Council supported the change of use proposal, but Tenby Civic Society had raised concerns that timber windows would be preferable within the conservation area, and asking for a potential restriction of working hours to protect residential amenity, and also raising concerns about a potential increase in parking issues.

After amended plans were produced, the Civic Society said: “The additional detail to front shop windows and reduction to first floor rear extension are welcome. The latter is still somewhat dominant to the two adjoining properties amenity; careful site inspection is needed and may well have produced this amendment.

“We remain enthusiasts for wooden windows here particularly for the characterful front elevation, including the upper floor. We note however that these upper floor dormers are not suited to sash format, and are common to other adjoining properties. Detail changes fit character and location and are welcome.”

An officer report recommending approval said: “Further to [an] objection received in terms of potential loss of privacy and light, revised plans have been received. The existing ground floor has been set back some 500mm from the southern boundary with Fern Cottage and conventional windows and a door substituted for the former patio windows.

“At first floor level, the proposed full-width extension has been set back by some 2.2 metres and a single window set off-centre to the west to avoid overlooking the rear windows and garden of Fern Cottage.

“The resultant stepped elevation is not regarded as overbearing and the exposed flat roof at first floor level is to be accessed only for maintenance so as to avoid potential for loss of amenity for neighbours.”

A BY-ELECTION is set to be held in Pembroke Dock Market Ward following confirmation that the required requests have been received to fill a vacancy on Pembrokeshire County Council.

The poll, if contested, will take place on Thursday, July 9.

The Notice of Election is due to be published on Thursday, June 4, with nominations open between 10:00am and 4:00pm from June 4 to June 12.

The count will take place on the morning of Friday, July 10.

Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive, William Bramble CBE, confirmed the timetable in an email to county councillors.

He said further details about the nomination process would be included in the Notice of Election, which will be made available on the council’s website.

Anyone requiring further information has been advised to contact Sian Waters, Electoral Services Manager, by emailing [email protected] or calling 01437 775714.

A PEMBROKESHIRE councillor has been suspended from office for four months for breaching the authority’s code of conduct over a planning matter on behalf of a friend he had holidayed in Mexico with.

At a May 26 extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s standards committee, Milford Haven North county councillor Alan Dennison was alleged, and later found to have, breached the code of conduct for members.

The committee found Cllr Dennison failed to declare personal and prejudicial interests in relation to a call by an applicant known to him to have a planning application decided by committee rather than by officers.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council, Lee Bridges had sought permission for retrospective engineering works to provide an external dining area at Masonic Hall, Imperial Function Centre, Hamilton Terrace Address, Milford Haven, works having started in 2021.

The application was due to be decided by planning officers, but, at the request of Cllr Dennison on behalf of local member Councillor Terry Davies, who was unable to attend due to a family issue, an unsuccessful call for it to be decided by councillors was brought before the county council’s planning delegation panel meeting of February 2025.

The May 2025 special standards meeting heard of a long string of connections between Cllr Dennison and Mr Bridges.

These included the councillor had been secretary, from 2018-2022, of the local Masonic Lodge which owned the building where the works took place, and becoming director of Imperial Hall Ltd, Mr Bridges’ company, from 2020-2023 after providing a since-repaid loan to him.

The meeting also heard Cllr Dennison was aware of the planning history regarding the applicant, who he and his family had gone on a two-week holiday with Mr Bridges and his family to Mexico, their connection “more than a casual acquaintanceship”.

The committee also heard the issue of a potential prejudicial interest was raised with Cllr Dennison by the council’s monitoring officer, advising him to withdraw representations at the delegation meeting due to a “perception of bias and predetermination”.

After concerns were raised by councillors, a complaint was made to the Ombudsman by Assistant chief Executive Richard Brown; the Ombudsman concluding a member of the public with the knowledge of the facts would see a potential prejudicial interest.

Cllr Dennison, at the meeting, said his representations at the delegation meeting were only made in a signed-for form on behalf of Cllr Davies, saying it was not his but Cllr Davies’ call, he only attending the meeting as a member of the public.

Speaking on behalf of Cllr Dennison, applicant Lee Bridges said he had been provided with the loan by Cllr Dennison after he encountered financial difficulties, making him a director for a period of time “as a form of gratitude,” adding he had approached Cllr Davies as local member over the planning issue, but he was unable to proceed at the meeting due family issues.

Members found that Cllr Dennison had a personal interest based on his “close personal association with Mr Bridges,” along with Cllr Dennison being a member of the Masonic Lodge which occupied the land and building, along with the ongoing friendship effectively made him “an advocate”.

They also found that Cllr Dennison should have left the public gallery as soon as he became aware of the item under discussion, in accordance with Ombudsman guidelines.

Cllr Dennison said there was confusion over the monitoring officer advice given and felt he was unfairly treated over a lack of information about legal support available to him during the hearing process, hoping that “lessons would be learned” council-wide.

Defending himself personally, he said he, as a councillor, was “driven for the benefit of the people of Pembrokeshire,” with his councillor salary donated to a dogs’ hospital charity in Sri Lanka.

Cllr Dennison was told the breach would attract a “mid-level suspension,” aggravated by his “blatant disregard of the advice of the monitoring officer,” his “seeking to unfairly blame others,” along with “refusal to accept the facts despite clear evidence to the contrary and continuing to deny the facts,” mitigated by the isolated nature of the offence, his “previous good service” and “relatively short length of service,” having first become a councillor in 2022.