PLANS for 5G Vodafone telecommunications works at Haverfordwest’s telephone exchange have been refused on the grounds of the impact on the town’s conservation area.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Reading-based Cellnex UK, through agent WHP Telecoms Ltd sought permission for the installation of replacement telecommunications apparatus and ancillary equipment at Haverfordwest exchange on Perrotts Avenue.

The works proposed included the removal of the existing antenna and the installation of six antennas.

A supporting statement said the application for the rooftop of the existing three-storey Haverfordwest Telephone Exchange, was for a 5G mobile base station for the mobile network operator Vodafone Ltd in conjunction with Cornerstone; the site owned and operated by Cellnex UK, a radio site infrastructure provider.

It added: “The proposal seeks to upgrade the existing equipment in situ to ensure that Vodafone Ltd. customers continue to benefit from modern and reliable connectivity. The current equipment has not been upgraded for a number of years and now requires significant modernisation to support the latest wireless technologies and meet the needs of both customers and the wider community.”

It went on to say: “Unlike earlier generations of mobile connectivity, 5G has more significant technical and operational requirements and this has implications on the amount, height, position and design of the apparatus on the rooftop of this building.

“The service provided by the operator is in the public interest and is in very high demand, with 5G being the next and highly significant advancement in mobile connectivity. In the UK there are now more almost 92.5 million subscriptions to mobile networks and mobile services now exceed fixed landlines in terms of customer numbers and usage.”

An officer report recommending refusal said: “The siting and design of the development are considered to be insensitive, incongruous, and harmful to the character and appearance of the Haverfordwest Conservation Area. The proposal fails to preserve or enhance the significance of the designated heritage asset, contrary to the fundamental objectives of sustainable development.”

It added: “While the proposed masts are of a broadly comparable height to the previously approved [2007] installation, the current proposal materially differs in both form and visual impact. In particular, the introduction of three separate telecommunications masts to facilitate 5G infrastructure results in a more prominent and visually intrusive arrangement that is not considered to be subservient to the host building, unlike the previously approved tubed apparatus.”

The application was refused on grounds including the visual impact and no biodiversity enhancement measures included as part of the proposed scheme.

A CONSERVATIVE candidate has won the seven-way battle for a Pembroke Dock county council seat made vacant following the death of veteran councillor Brian Hall.

Before he passed away in April, Councillor Brian Hall had held the Pembroke Dock Market ward seat since 1996.

Following Cllr Hall’s death, Presiding Member of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Simon Hancock said: “Brian was a larger-than-life character who was passionately devoted to Pembroke Dock and his constituents. He never let an opportunity pass without mentioning and advancing the interests of his hometown. We extend sincere condolences to his family.”

Since that seat became vacant, seven hopefuls put their names forward to represent the Market ward, with an election being held on July 9, the results announced this morning, July 10.

The election for the ward, which has an electorate of 1,442 voters, saw a 28 per cent turnout.

Winner was Welsh Conservatives candidate Jamie Street with 143 votes, approximately 36 per cent of all votes cast.

Second place, with 100 votes, went to Independent candidate Claire Francis-Boswell, who can be commiserated by recently becoming a town council member for the very same ward.

Other candidates, and their share of the votes, were: Chloe Louise Richards, Plaid Cymru, 79 votes; Ryan Morgan, Reform UK, 48; Paul Haywood Dowson, Independent, but listed as a member of Restore Britain since March of this year, 11; Lee Herring, Welsh Liberal Democrats, nine; Hayley Wood, Independent, seven.

Cllr Street’s win brings the total number of Conservative Group members on the council to 12, the largest individual political party group; the council also having an Independent Group of 18 members, 15 unaffiliated members, three Plaid Cymru, two Liberal Democrats, nine Labour members, and one Reform.

Cllr Street has been contacted for a statement on what he will bring to the Market Ward and Pembrokeshire’s council.

Back in 2022, the-then Cllr Dowson, representing Pembroke Dock Central as a UKIP councillor, was barred from holding any form of public office for the next three years after being found guilty of bullying, providing fabricated evidence to the Ombudsman and of misleading the public at a case tribunal convened by the president of the adjudication panel for Wales.

Mr Dowson more recently stood as an independent candidate in this year’s Senedd elections for the new Ceredigion Penfro constituency, gaining 88 votes out of a total of 89,402 votes cast.

His 11 votes for fifth place in the Market Ward contest amounted to some 2.77 per cent of votes cast, significantly higher than the 0.0984 per cent in the recent Senedd elections.

Jamie Street takes Market ward with a 43-vote majority as Reform finishes fourth despite its major Senedd breakthrough two months earlier

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have won the Pembroke Dock Market by-election after Jamie Street secured a convincing victory in a crowded seven-candidate contest.

Mr Street received 143 votes, finishing 43 ahead of independent candidate Claire Francis-Boswell, who came second with 100.

Plaid Cymru’s Chloe Richards took third place with 79 votes, while Reform UK candidate Ryan Morgan finished fourth on 48.

Former county councillor and recent Senedd candidate Paul Dowson received just 11 votes. Welsh Liberal Democrat Lee Herring polled nine, while independent Hayley Wood received seven.

A total of 397 valid votes were cast, with one ballot paper rejected. Turnout was 28% from an electorate of 1,442.

Mr Street secured 36% of the valid vote, compared with 25.2% for Mrs Francis-Boswell, 19.9% for Ms Richards and 12.1% for Reform UK.

The by-election followed the death of veteran councillor Brian Hall, who had represented the ward since winning a by-election in 1996.

His successor will now take on the considerable task of following a councillor who spent almost three decades representing Pembroke Dock and became one of the longest-serving members of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Strong local campaigns dominate the contest

The result suggests that voters treated the election primarily as a contest over local representation rather than a referendum on national politics.

Mr Street grew up in the ward and presented himself throughout the campaign as a candidate with direct personal ties to Pembroke Dock.

Mrs Francis-Boswell, who was born and raised in the town and already has a visible role in the local community, also performed strongly. Her 100 votes demonstrated the continuing appeal of independent candidates in Pembrokeshire politics.

Plaid Cymru’s Chloe Richards, an intensive care nurse and clinical educator who lives in the ward, secured almost one vote in five and finished only 21 votes behind Mrs Francis-Boswell.

Between them, the three leading candidates collected more than four-fifths of all valid votes.

That left little room for Reform, despite the party’s dramatic rise across Wales.

Why did Reform receive a hammering?

The result is a bruising setback for Reform UK.

Ryan Morgan finished 95 votes behind the Conservative winner and received only one vote for every three secured by Mr Street.

The contrast with May’s Senedd election is striking.

Across the much larger Ceredigion Penfro constituency, Reform received 23,003 votes, representing 25.8% of the vote, and won two of the six available seats.

The Welsh Conservatives received 14,789 votes, or 16.6%, and took one seat.

In Pembroke Dock Market, those positions were decisively reversed. The Conservatives took 36% while Reform secured just 12.1%.

The two elections are not directly comparable. The Senedd contest covered a vast geographical area, used a proportional voting system and was dominated by national issues. The Market ward by-election involved fewer than 400 valid votes and was fought street by street.

Nevertheless, the result shows that Reform’s national success cannot automatically be converted into council seats.

Mr Morgan runs a care business in Pembroke Dock and campaigned on social care, neglected buildings and support for families with additional learning needs. However, he lives in neighbouring Pembroke rather than in the ward itself.

Against candidates who could point to long-standing personal and community connections within Market ward, that distinction may have mattered.

Low-turnout council elections also reward organisation, personal contact and the ability to identify supporters and ensure they vote. With fewer than 400 votes cast, established local networks can outweigh national polling, online support and the prominence of a party’s leader.

The absence of a Labour candidate may also have fragmented the vote among Plaid Cymru and the independents rather than producing a straightforward contest between Reform and the Conservatives.

There is no way of knowing from the result alone whether tactical voting took place. However, the numbers suggest that voters looking for a centre-right candidate consolidated heavily behind Mr Street rather than Reform.

Reform’s defeat cannot be blamed on Paul Dowson splitting its potential vote. Even if all 11 of Mr Dowson’s supporters had voted for Mr Morgan, Reform would still have finished fourth, behind Plaid Cymru.

The result does not prove that Reform’s wider support in Pembrokeshire has disappeared. It does, however, expose the difference between attracting a protest vote in a national election and building the local organisation required to win a tightly fought council seat.

Former Senedd candidate receives just 11 votes

One of the most striking results of the night was the performance of Paul Dowson.

The former Pembrokeshire county councillor received only 11 votes, representing 2.8% of the valid ballots cast.

Mr Dowson served on Pembrokeshire County Council from 2017 until 2022 and was initially elected as an independent before later joining UKIP.

He returned to electoral politics in May as an independent candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro Senedd election but received only 88 votes from more than 89,000 valid ballots.

His candidacy attracted particular attention because he had previously been disqualified from serving as a councillor for three years.

In 2022, the Adjudication Panel for Wales found that Mr Dowson had committed a series of serious breaches of the councillors’ Code of Conduct.

The tribunal found that he had made false allegations of criminal behaviour against a fellow councillor and members of the public, engaged in bullying and harassment, spread misinformation and attempted to mislead an Ombudsman investigation by providing fabricated evidence.

It concluded that his conduct called into question his fitness for public office and disqualified him for three years from becoming a member of Pembrokeshire County Council or another relevant authority.

That disqualification expired in 2025, leaving him legally entitled to stand in both the Senedd election and Thursday’s council by-election.

Mr Dowson has previously rejected the findings against him and argued that he was targeted because of his political views.

However, his result in Market ward was emphatic. Despite his previous council service, a high public profile and a Senedd campaign only two months earlier, he attracted fewer than a dozen votes.

A warning for Reform and a boost for the Conservatives

The victory gives the Welsh Conservatives an important local boost at a time when the party is under intense pressure from Reform across Wales.

The result suggests there remains a route to Conservative success where the party selects a locally recognised candidate and keeps the campaign focused on council services and community representation.

For Reform, 48 votes demonstrate that the party has an identifiable base in Pembroke Dock. However, it was nowhere near enough to challenge for the seat.

The party now faces the challenge of converting its national profile into credible local campaigns, recognised candidates and dependable voter networks.

For Plaid Cymru, Chloe Richards’ third-place finish was respectable and provides a foundation on which the party may seek to build.

Mrs Francis-Boswell’s strong second place also underlines the continuing strength of independent politics in Pembrokeshire, particularly where candidates have visible records of community involvement.

The immediate winner, however, is Jamie Street.

He enters County Hall with a clear mandate from those who voted, but also with the knowledge that more than seven in ten eligible electors did not take part.

His first challenge will be to establish himself as the representative of the entire ward while following a predecessor who served Pembroke Dock for almost 30 years.