News

Toll bridge in Enterprise Zone is ‘ludicrous’

Published

10 years ago

March 8, 2016

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has rejected a notice of motion from Cllr Bob Kilmister which called for the council to negotiate with the Welsh Government over the transfer of the Cleddau Bridge.

The matter was discussed at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet on Monday, February 22.

Cllr Kilmister stated that the Council lacked the will to negotiate with the Welsh Government and said it was ludicrous how there was a toll bridge in an Enterprise Zone.

However, Cllr Rob Lewis said that negotiations were currently taking place and added that he was perplexed as to why the notice of motion had come before them.

Cllr Bob Kilmister said: “The purpose of this is to quite clearly on whether we are prepared to stop using the bridge as a cash earner or not.

“The whole argument is about the Chief Financial Officers’ comments in the report. He says: ‘Should ownership of the Cleddau Bridge be transferred to the Welsh Government and the council receives no proceeds from the transfer it would lose net income of £1.9million per annum’.

“Who could disagree with that statement? My notice of motion seeks to negotiate a transfer. It does not specify the terms, they need to be negotiated and frankly I am very confident that this could be achieved with good will on both sides.

“Refusing this simply says that we don’t want to change our position at all. I’m extremely confident that this is a view not shared by the residents of this county. Currently, I think we lack that good will to negotiate. This council has used, over many years, all kinds of smoke and mirrors on this issue. It has, in my opinion, deliberately misled members and the general public because it raises so much income for the council.

“It has ignored the economic considerations or the effect it has had on businesses and residents who use it, often on a daily basis.

“It has been a stealth tax since this council was formed and before. The notional debt issue confused everyone, including the Wales Audit Office, but at last we now have a clear position on that issue.

“If anyone doubts that the tolls on this bridge do not have a detrimental effect on the county’s economy then they are, in my humble opinion, utterly deluded.

“We have a toll bridge in the middle of an Enterprise Zone, frankly it beggars belief.

“We need to negotiate a conclusion to this saga and this seeks to achieve that end.”

Council Leader Jamie Adams said it was not fair to suggest that the running of the Cleddau Bridge was dreamed up by the council.

Cllr Rob Lewis said: “This is something that has taken up quite a lot of council time over the last 18 months. To say that we as an authority have done nothing would be wrong. There has been substantial work carried out by the Economy Task and Finish Group.

“The important thing that we need to be aware of is the current work taking place with the Welsh Government looking at the future of the road network of the area. Cllr Kilmister seems to be asking to do something that we started doing a while ago. This is the process that we need to follow.”

Cllr Sue Perkins said: “I’m sure nobody likes to pay for the Bridge but I think everybody understands that before the bridge it took an hour get round so it is a huge important benefit to the area and once the work has been done Welsh Government could take it over and say we will not charge at all and trunk the road which is something that many people have argued about.

“My concern is that we would not only lose the bridge and the management of it but we could also end up costing a huge amount more for the people of the area. We don’t know but that is the work that needs to be undertaken and this is what we are doing.”

Council Leader Jamie Adams added that the council would, on some occasions, need to draw on the money coming in from the bridge like they had in the past to strengthen the bridge.

Cllr Bob Kilmister said: “The Act of Parliament was very specific saying how the use of funds should be made and there is great doubt that we have actually followed that act.

“My party, the Liberal Democrats, first raised the issue in 1984 with Patrick Jones so to say that this has come out of nowhere so this isn’t the case.

“We have made huge profit out of this bridge over the time of its existence. That is either in the region of either a minimum of £7million and a maximum of £19million. This argument is simply about money.

“We have to negotiate and we haven’t done that in a constructive manner with Welsh Government up to this time and we need to preserve our financial position as best we are able to do that.

“We have a duty to protect and build that economy and at the present moment our actions with the Bridge do not help that to happen and to have a toll bridge in an Enterprise Zone is ludicrous and I cannot understand how that came about.”

The notice of motion from Cllr Kilmister was not adopted.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

1 hour ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon last week, marking the start of physical
deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on
shortly after 4pm on Wednesday 26th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy
components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the
existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.
The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-
loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through
Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the
latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived last week yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are
expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be
blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with
a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG
terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to
power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.

Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s the arrival of
the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are
expected to begin early next year, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-
bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.
Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery
programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.