News

A ‘poorly planned’ pavement

Published

8 years ago

February 29, 2016

New path: Requiring the tearing up of the central reservation

ON TUESDAY (Feb 9) The Herald was made aware of road works going on outside of a farm at the top of Pope Hill, Haverfordwest, which were described as ‘badly planned and a waste of Welsh tax payers money’ by farm owners.

The controversial new road works which are being completed by Atkins Contractors have been commissioned by Pembrokeshire County Council to dig up an existing central reservation separating the main A4076 road into Haverfordwest and a lay-by.

Formerly, members of the public (which farm owner Andrew Clark said you can count daily on one hand), had to walk around the outer perimeter of the lay-by before rejoining the section of pavement without crossing the path of traffic.

However with the new layout, College students, parents and cyclists will be forced to cross both the entrance and exit of the lay-by along the busy main road.

Andrew Clark said: “These works are going ahead and we haven’t even been consulted with, or notified.”

“They are going to have to dig up and remove a small portion of my land to join this new pavement to the current path, which isn’t as much my issue as the cost of the whole job which I expect will be a six-figure contract.” He added.

Mrs Clark said: “They could have spent the funds much more wisely.” She explained: “The new supermarket in Johnston is great, but for years it has had the problem of people abusing the large pavement area in front of it, instead of making use of the shops large car park.”

She continued: “Many times I have been there and seen cars wrongly parked, which has forced prams and mobility scooter to have to walk around very near to the road, once I’ve even seen a car pull up so close to the cash point on the outer wall of the shop that they leaned out to withdraw cash without having to leave their car.

“Why are funds not spent on things which matter like preventing this happening?”

The couple explained how Dredgmen Hill the opposite side of the hill crest has a cycle path running it’s length, which stops at the lay-by which they are working on.

Mrs Clark explained: “Everyone we’ve contacted about this has said that they are not looking to make the pavement along Johnston side of the hill into a cycle path.”

She said how that would be a very wise way to spend a small amount of funds as it would force the council to have pavement indicators of their three property exits, which are currently not labelled to the cyclists who ride very quickly down the hill.

Mr Clark said: “Sometimes I’ve been leaving and cyclists not paying full attention have had to last minute swerve behind my car, it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident.”

On Tuesday afternoon Mr and Mrs Clarke were approached by a spokesperson from Atkins Contractors who presented a letter which should have been sent out prior to works beginning and sat down to explain what was happening.

Johnston Cllr Ken Rowlands speaking about the cash point parking issue said: “I raised this issue six to nine months ago and they are dragging their feet, I have seen young children with their parents forced to walk close to the road by vehicles.”

He was also contacted by the Clarks, but initially had no idea about the road works, so got in touch with Trunk Road Agency who have said they will be more transparent in the future: “I remember before when there was a lot of communication between Pembrokeshire County Council and the agency, and both used to work very closely, but more recently this has not been there. They have assured me that this will improve.”

After the current works are completed on the lay-by works will begin on another further along the road towards Haverfordwest.

The spokesperson for Atkins explained this is to join the path between Haverfordwest and Johnston as these were previously the only two breaks. They did not address the continuation of the cycle path.

Speaking on the specifically highlighted areas, Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Our road safety and traffic manger has recently met with the local member to discuss putting up bollards in John Street and he has also arranged to meet with the town council along with the local member later this month to look at putting additional double yellow lines in the town. Civil Enforcement Officers are regularly deployed to the area.”

Education

Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training

Published

1 hour ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.

The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.

However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.

The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.

The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.

We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.

Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.

Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.

As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.

This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”

Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.

This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.

The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”

Crime

Manslaughter charge following death in Carmarthenshire

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

DYFED-POWYS POLICE have confirmed Jason Thomas, 39, from Llanelli, has been charged with manslaughter following an incident on Saturday, March 25.

Police were called to a property in Robinson St, Llanelli to concerns for the welfare of a man.

Liam Rhys Morgan-Whittle, 22, was taken to hospital where he sadly passed away.

Jason Thomas was quickly arrested and later released on conditional bail while the police investigation continued.

He will appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 30, it has been confirmed.

***Passed away: Liam Rhys Morgan-Whittle***

News

£10,000 legal row over English-only parking charge notice continues

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE LANGUAGE campaigner Toni Schiavone will appear in court in Aberystwyth for the fourth time on Monday, 13 May over his refusal to pay an English-only parking charge notice, after the parking company One Parking Solution won an appeal to reintroduce the case in January.

This is despite the judge, Gareth Humphreys, warning that the company should carefully consider the value of continuing with a case that has already been “long, beyond unfortunate” and has cost the parking company over £10,000 in legal fees to date.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith have called on the court to rule that English-only parking charge notices are insufficient as ruled by the judge Mervyn Jones-Evans in a recent case in Caernarfon, and on the Welsh Government to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers in the private sector are respected.

Toni Schiavone received the English-only notice for not paying for parking in a car park in Llangrannog in September 2020.

The original case was thrown out of court in May 2022 because a representative from the parking company was not present, and the second case in August 2023 was also thrown out because the case was presented late and under incorrect rules.

On 26 January this year, One Parking Solution won an appeal enabling them to continue prosecuting Mr Schiavone, after the judge ruled that there were no grounds to throw the first two cases out of court.

Speaking at the hearing in January, Toni Schiavone said he had received a letter with costs of £10,156.70 a the day before from One Parking Solution, and that the company had acted “disrespectfully, unreasonably and vindictively.” According to research by Cymdeithas yr Iaith, translating the notice into Welsh would have cost only £60.

Siân Howys, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Welsh Language Rights Group said:

“It is disappointing that One Parking Solution have decided to resubmit this case, but the real reason Toni must appear in court yet again is because the rights of people who live in Wales to use the Welsh language are not ensured in statute. We have seen other cases of this recently as HSBC and the energy company OVO have weakened or even abolished their Welsh-medium services, without any serious response from our Government.

“We call on our members and supporters to be present on 13 May to support Toni, and to demand that the right to use the Welsh language in all aspects of life is respected through legislation.”

On 30 January, the Welsh Government voted against Heledd Fychan MS’s motion on behalf of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd to set Welsh Language Standards on a statutory basis for institutions in the private sector, such as banks, supermarkets and private car parks.

During the debate, Siân Gwenllian MS referred to Toni Schiavone’s case as an example of the need to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers. Discussing the parking company, she said:

“Once again, the response is arrogant and insulting.

“Why must Welsh speakers continue to campaign and demand services through the medium of Welsh?

“It is high time that the basic rights of Welsh speakers were respected through statute, and that in all aspects of life.”