Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

News

Church welcomes Welsh law to protect history

Published

on

Legal protection: The ancient Nevern Cross at St Brynach’s Church, Nevern, Pembrokeshire

Legal protection: The ancient Nevern Cross at St Brynach’s Church, Nevern, Pembrokeshire

HISTORIC churches hope to benefit from the first Wales-only legislation to protect Wales’ built heritage.

The Historic Environment (Wales) Bill, passed this week by the National Assembly for Wales, will introduce new measures to protect Wales’ historic environment, including churches and ancient monuments in churchyard, when it becomes law next month.

Alex Glanville, head of property services for the Church in Wales, said, “We congratulate the Welsh Government on the completion of this Bill. The consultative and preparatory work behind it has been exemplary and we look forward to working with the Welsh Government on aspects arising from the Bill – in particular future guidance on ecclesiastical buildings and the newly formed Welsh Places of Worship Forum.”

The Church in Wales owns 1,352 churches actively continuing worship and ministry across Wales, two-thirds of which are listed buildings. 147 of these are Grade 1 Listed buildings (29% of all Grade 1 Listed buildings in Wales) which include our six Cathedrals. Many of our churches are regularly open to the public and together attract two million visitors each year.

The new Bill includes powers to take urgent action to stop unauthorised work to historic sites and to prevent historic buildings from falling into disrepair.

Once the Bill is law, Wales will also become the first country in the UK to put historic environment records on a statutory footing – a measure that stakeholder groups have been calling for across the UK. These records allow advice on decisions by planning authorities and land managers to be based on sound information. They will also provide access to the new list of historic place names in Wales – another first for Wales.

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said, “Wales’ rich historic environment extends beyond our well-known ancient monuments and historic buildings. It also includes historic parks and gardens and our country’s great legacy of historic place names, both of which will, for the first time, be placed on statutory registers.

“Our heritage tells the fascinating story of our past; it brings social and cultural benefits; and it makes a significant contribution to our economy through tourism. It is something that people really care about. We often see anger and concern when people are made aware of the deliberate neglect of a listed building or the careless destruction of a scheduled monument.

“The Bill has been the result of extensive conversations with heritage professionals, voluntary organisations and the public. This gave us a clear idea of the challenges and the need for effective and flexible mechanisms for how we manage change.

“I am proud that in passing this Bill we are giving greater protection to our historic environment, raising awareness of its significance and supporting its sustainable management. Our outstanding historic sites and buildings need this protection so that they can continue to fascinate and inspire people for generations to come.”

The Bill will also simplify some of the systems in place for the management of scheduled monuments and listed buildings by allowing owners to enter into voluntary heritage partnership agreements with consenting authorities.

It will make it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location.

It will allow the development of a system of preservation notices and will give local authorities new ways to recover their costs when they have to take direct action.

It will also create an independent panel to provide the Welsh Ministers with expert advice on policy and strategy; introduce formal consultation with owners of buildings or monuments before a decision to protect them is made, and extend the definition of what can be protected as an ancient monument to include some battlefield sites and prehistoric settlements.

The Bill will become an Act when it receives Royal Assent in March 2016.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Largest Welsh port appoints communications and marketing director

Published

on

THE Port of Milford Haven has announced that Anna Malloy has been appointed as its first Communications and Marketing Director.

Anna is appointed to the Senior Management Team and this new role will be pivotal to the delivery of the Port’s long-term growth and diversification agenda and in ensuring that its obligations to coastal communities, future generations and to nature are honoured.

Tom Sawyer, CEO of the Port of Milford Haven, congratulated Anna and said: “Anna has a key role to play in our future and it’s doubly lovely to see ‘port-grown-talent’ flourish and for colleagues to progress up through our organisation.”

Anna will lead across the public affairs, marketing, sustainability, media relations, and community relations activities. She will therefore play a central role in the development of new and existing partnerships, including the Celtic Freeport, the Milford Haven Energy Cluster and the Celtic Collection; sitting alongside the delivery of major projects like Milford Waterfront and the Pembroke Dock Renewables Terminal.

“This is such an exciting opportunity. I am proud to be joining the Senior Management Team and look forward to delivering our ambitious strategy,” commented Anna Malloy, Communications and Marketing Director.

She added: “The Port of Milford Haven is playing a key role in the transition of South-West Wales’ economy to a decarbonised future. A beautiful place, with great people, that I am privileged to call my home.”

Continue Reading

Community

First deadlines met following enforcement action at landfill site

Published

on

THE first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).  

NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday 18 April.

This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday (Thursday 25 April), NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed – two ahead of the imposed deadlines.

The operator has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of the cell identified as causing the odour issues (Cell 8). These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.

Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.

While progress is being made, NRW officers detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday (24 April) in Poyston Cross and Crundale. Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction.

NRW odour assessments follow a set route around the landfill, with designated survey spots, identified to enable consistency of assessment and reporting. This is essential to ensure the regulatory and enforcement responses where there is offsite odour attributed to the landfill is robust. 

The remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time and NRW continues to closely monitor progress.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire on Thursday 25 April.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales, said:  “While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site.

“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible. While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.

“We want to make sure that happens, and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, said: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.

“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May. If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

These photos taken on 16 April and 25 April show the progress of capping works on cell 8. Pin wells are visible in both images. These have been connected to the landfill gas extraction system and are extracting gas from the waste mass.

Continue Reading

Community

Milford Haven’s war memorial is 100 years old today

Published

on

THE Milford Haven War Memorial, a significant landmark commemorating the fallen heroes of World Wars and subsequent conflicts, marks its 100th anniversary today.

The memorial, which was inaugurated on April 26, 1924 by the Venerable the Archdeacon of St Davids, remains a poignant symbol of sacrifice and hope for peace.

Constructed from 1923 to 1924, the memorial consists of a striking assembly of pink granite and white marble statues that were sculpted in Italy.

Representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, these life-size statues stand on an unpolished three-step plinth below a main pedestal. A soldier faces west and a sailor east, with an airman atop the central column, surveying the skies.

The names and inscriptions of the fallen are carved into the polished granite shaft, meticulously supervised by surveyor J.P. Morgan with contractor E. Jones of Llanybydder.

Located on Hamolton Terrace with views over the Milford Haven waterway, the memorial is a freestanding structure in an external, roadside setting. It features a serviceman/woman sculpture in marble and Portland stone, set on a concrete base surrounded by railings. Inscribed plaques honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2009.

The memorial lists the names of 239 men who perished in the First World War on its polished grey granite faces. The Second World War claimed 157 lives from this community, whose names are recorded on bronze plaques around the base. Notably, the memorial also honours one serviceman who fell during the Korean War and another who was killed in Iraq in 2007.

The Milford Haven War Memorial stands not only as a historical monument but also as an enduring reminder of the costs of war and the community’s ongoing commitment to peace.

As the town reflects on a century of remembrance, the hope remains that future generations will continue to cherish and learn from the lessons of the past.

Continue Reading

Community21 hours ago

Suspected explosive device found on west Wales beach

NEW QUAY Coastguard Rescue Team were tasked at 03:50 this morning following a report of suspected washed up Ordnance on...

Crime21 hours ago

Teenage girl in court charged with three counts of attempted murder

A 13-YEAR-OLD appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court this morning, in connection to the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman on Wednesday....

Crime2 days ago

All three school stabbing victims discharged from hospital, police confirm

POLICE remain at Ysgol Dyffryn Amman today, following an incident yesterday in which three people were injured, Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed...

Crime3 days ago

Pembrokeshire pensioner accused of 17 sexual offences against children

A 72-YEAR-OLD Pembrokeshire man has appeared before magistrates charged with 17 sexual offences against children under the age of 14....

News3 days ago

Police and air ambulances at ‘serious incident’ at West Wales school

DYFED POWYS POLICE has said it is dealing with an incident at a west Wales school. There has been a...

News4 days ago

Haverfordwest interchange: Next stage of £19m project backed

The second stage of building Haverfordwest’s near-£19m transport interchange has been backed, with senior councillors hearing it could cost the...

News7 days ago

20mph U-turn: Some roads will return to 30mph following public outcry

IN a recent shift in policy, Transport Secretary Ken Skates announced that some roads in Wales will revert to a...

News1 week ago

Police issue update on the search for Luke, missing from Pembroke Dock

POLICE have made the difficult decision to end the search for Luke, following a joint decision by all the agencies...

Entertainment1 week ago

NoFit State Circus set to thrill Pembrokeshire this summer

NoFit State Circus is set to captivate Pembrokeshire once again this summer, as they bring back their thrilling big top...

News1 week ago

Search for missing teenager Luke continues at Pembroke Dock

THE SEARCH for the missing 19-year-old, Luke, continues unabated into its fourth day, with efforts increasingly centred around the waterways...

Popular This Week