PEMBROKESHIRE’S council has made 17 purchases of housing in various sizes and a building to be used as a children’s home, amounting to just over £6.5m, but the council will pay a fraction of that thanks to grant support.

At the July 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, members backed a recommendation to note a report covering larger acquisitions and disposals which have completed between last November and March of this year.

A report presented by Joint Cabinet Member for Communities Cllr Aaron Carey listed 18 separate groups of acquisitions, totalling £6,526,967, along with one disposal of the former contact centre, Argyle Street, Pembroke Dock, at £415,000.

For those purchases, grants have been secured to the tune of £6,440,179, the report said.

These acquisitions, all for housing stock in various sizes and amounts, are: 22 The Glebe, Tenby £200,000, with a grant of £119,419; 12 Gay Lane , Marloes, £180,000 (£129,728); 5 St Mary’s Road, Pembroke Dock £125,000 (£76,764); 51 Augustine Way, Haverfordwest £105,000 (£69,126); 82 Heywood Court, Tenby £115,000 (£87,633); 19 Maes Ewan, Solva £220,000 (£165,155); 29 Heol Penlan, Goodwick £132,000 (£86,393); 1 Churchill Close, Tenby £125,000 (£83,571); 3 Westaway Park, Rosemarket £142,000 (£93,134); 22 Churchill Close, Tenby £125,000 (£83,571); 31 Haroldston Close, Merlins Bridge £110,000 (£62,318); 28 Flemish Court, Lamphey £160,000 (£114,597); 7 Precelly Place, Milford Haven £125,000 (£81,578); 17 Newell Hill, Tenby 170,000 (£120,098).

Larger acquisitions are: 3 Rose Haven, The Beacon, Rosemarket, of four two-bed houses and six three-bed houses £2,601,967 (£1,725,179); 32, 33, 34 and 35 Harcourt Close, Hook four two-bed semis £864,000; 36 and 37 Harcourt Close, Hook two three-bed semis £552,000, with a grant of £2,821,760 covering 15 units in the case of the latter two.

An additional purchase of Sentry Cottage, Jordanston for a children’s residential home at £475,000, with a £580,152 grant was also listed.

Planning permission for that scheme was granted back in February.

Cabinet member Cllr Jon Harvey pointed out the grants received offset the costs “quite substantially” for the purchases, the majority of which will “provide much-needed affordable housing”.

Last November, Cabinet members heard a similar report, covering April 1 to October 31 of 2025, which included includes the purchase of 16 properties for housing stock, to the tune of £3,470,000 and the disposal of two industrial estate plots, at some £278,400.

PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY has published its latest Welsh Language Standards Annual Report, setting out the work carried out over the past year to support and promote the use of Welsh across its services.

The report covers the period from April 2025 to March 2026 and outlines the Authority’s progress in meeting its statutory duties under the Welsh Language Standards.

The Standards require public bodies in Wales to provide services and communicate with the public in Welsh, ensuring that people can access information, take part in public life and engage with organisations through the language of their choice.

The legal framework for the Standards is set out in the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, which places duties on public organisations, including National Park Authorities, to treat the Welsh language no less favourably than English.

For Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, the report is not only a statutory requirement but also a reflection of the importance of Welsh to many communities across the county.

The Authority says its work under the Standards supports residents, schools, community groups, volunteers and visitors, while helping to ensure that Welsh remains visible and accessible in everyday life.

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said: “The Welsh language is central to the identity, culture and everyday life of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

“As an Authority, we recognise our responsibility not only to comply with the Welsh Language Standards, but to help create the conditions in which Welsh can be used naturally and confidently.

“For many people in Pembrokeshire, Welsh is the language of home, family and community, and it is important that they are able to engage with the Authority in their first language.

“This work is reflected across the Authority’s services, from the way we share information with the public to our work with schools, communities, volunteers and visitors.

“The Annual Report provides an opportunity to look at what has been achieved over the past year, while also recognising where further progress can be made.”

The Authority’s wider commitment to the Welsh language is also reflected in its Welsh Language Strategy, National Park Management Plan and Local Development Plan 2.

The full Welsh Language Standards Annual Report is available at: www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/welsh-language-standards/.

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council ended its recent financial year underspending its budget by more than £5.5m after massive overspends  in recent years, the savings being set aside for initiatives which it is hoped may help further savings.

In a report before the July 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, presented by Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies Cllr Jon Harvey, members heard the council ended the 2025-’26 financial year with an underspend of £5.6m, £1.6m better than the end-of-year forecast at the end of the third quarter of the financial year of £4m.

This was set against a net expenditure of £321m from a budget of £326.6m.

Speaking at the meeting, former leader Cllr Harvey said the majority of the council’s services were in, or below, budget, with more than 95 per cent of budget savings targets achieved.

He also referenced the report which said: “Additional council tax income has resulted in £2.4m more than anticipated being collected during 2025-26,” which would have effectively increased the underspend to £8m.

“A large proportion of this relates to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) backlog in assessment of self-catering properties, with a continued increase in properties moving from Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) and qualifying for Second Home Council Tax (SHCT) premium as a result of not meeting the required 182-day occupancy threshold.”

It said that council tax arrears had increased to £19.5m, with a £2.1m second homes premium level of arrears, relating “specifically to properties that have transferred from NDR to council tax and are currently subject to appeals to the Valuation Office, with the aim of reverting back to NDR”.

It added: “There is likely to be additional debt within this category that has not yet been quantified. It would be prudent therefore, for an element of the £2.4m surplus to be held in reserve for likely refunds following VOA determination and to support the collection of outstanding council tax arrears, and this is recommended.”

Members backed a recommendation to note the report, and to approve the appropriation of the £5.6m budget underspend to the initiative fund to provide resources for improvement and prevention projects to make further potential savings.

They also backed £1m of the additional council tax collected to make provision for repayment of second homes council tax premiums to those who successfully appeal the 182-days occupancy threshold with the Valuation Office Agency; the remaining £1.4m appropriated to the Initiative Fund reserve.

The previous £4m underspend prediction, back in February, In the previous financial quarter report, back in February, compared with a predicted end-of-year underspend of £1m in the previous financial quarter, and predictions of a £2.2m underspend from figures from the first quarter of the financial year.

Pembrokeshire County Council ended the previous 2024-’25 financial year underspending by £2m, in part due to an extra £1.2m raised through second homes tax.

In recent years the situation has been far bleaker, with third quarter projections for the 2023-24 budget of an overspend of £6.6m, £3m up from quarter two’s £3.6m, which in itself was a reduction of the previous quarter one figure of a £4.8m predicted overspend.

The end of the 2024 financial year reduced that to a £3m overspend.