Residents invited to help shape Local Development Plan 3 as early consultation opens

RESIDENTS, community groups and organisations are being invited to help shape the future of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park as part of an early-stage public consultation on its next Local Development Plan.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority has opened consultation on a series of key documents that will inform Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3), which will guide how the National Park develops over the coming years.

The consultation opened on Monday (Jan 26) and will run until 5:00pm on Monday, March 23.

Local Development Plan 3 will influence planning decisions across the National Park, including issues relating to housing, sustainability, communities, the natural environment and climate change. At this early stage, the Authority is seeking views on the main issues the Plan should address, helping to shape its direction from the outset.

The documents open for consultation are the Sustainability Appraisal incorporating the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Scoping Report, which includes background information on relevant plans, policies and environmental baselines; a Draft Issues, Vision and Objectives Paper setting out key challenges and a potential long-term vision for the National Park; and the Local Development Plan 2 Annual Monitoring Report covering April 2024 to March 2025.

An online engagement event will be held on Monday, February 9, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, providing an opportunity for participants to learn more about the documents and ask questions. The event will take place via Microsoft Teams.

Anyone wishing to attend must register by emailing [email protected]
. Welsh-language translation can be provided on request if the Authority is notified by Monday, February 2.

All consultation documents will be available on the National Park Authority’s website. They can also be accessed on public computers in libraries, with paper copies available at a charge.

Comments can be submitted online via the consultation questionnaire, by email, or in writing to the Strategic Policy Team at the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. All responses will be acknowledged and made public, and feedback will be considered as the Authority prepares the next stages of Local Development Plan 3.

Further information is available by contacting [email protected]
or calling 01646 624800.

Victims are to gain more control over their cases

MORE rape and sexual assault survivors across England and Wales will have the right to ask for their cases to be reviewed before a final decision to offer no evidence is made after pilot scheme is significantly expanded into three more regions.
Following positive feedback from an initial pilot in the West Midlands, which launched in June 2025, the Solicitor General has confirmed the scheme will now expand to three more CPS Areas.
Beginning with CPS North West in January, followed by CPS Yorkshire and Humberside in early February, and CPS Cymru-Wales in April.
Under the current system, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. While victims can ask for the decision to be reviewed under the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) scheme, this will not change the outcome.
The pilot gives victims of rape or serious sexual abuse the right for their case to be reviewed by a different prosecutor before any final decisions are made, and the chance to continue proceedings remains. If that prosecutor determines there is enough evidence, the case will continue.
The move will help to enhance confidence in the justice system by giving victims more control over their case, getting them the answers they deserve and putting perpetrators behind bars.
The pilot is an important part of the government’s VAWG strategy, which sets out its commitment to halving violence against women and girls within a decade.
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves MP, said: “Rape and sexual assault are abhorrent, causing long-lasting physical and emotional trauma to victims. Victims who come forward deserve to know that their experiences are being heard.
“This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls and following a positive pilot in the West Midlands, I am working with CPS to roll out the victims right to review pilot to three more regions.
“This will increase routes to justice and above all, it will ensure victims are given fairness, dignity and are truly heard. “
Survivors eligible for the pilot in the West Midlands – including those who did not request a review – gave positive feedback, saying they valued having the opportunity for their case to be reconsidered before a final decision was reached.
The expansion will allow the Crown Prosecution Service to gather further evidence and data on the scheme’s effectiveness before any decision is made on a national rollout.
Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, said: “It’s encouraging to see the VRR pilot expanding further. From lived experience, I know the difference an earlier opportunity for review can make, and the learning from the West Midlands shows this clearly – survivors have said that simply having this option makes a positive difference.
“Adding this right is an important step forward. It helps build confidence in the justice system by giving victims greater control at a critical moment in their case and the chance to get the answers they deserve. The phased, evidence-led approach reflects constructive engagement and a genuine willingness to learn from what’s working. I’m proud to see this steady progress and grateful for the openness to change.”
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “Survivors of rape and serious sexual assault deserve to have their voices heard and have the best possible chance of achieving justice.
“Expanding this pilot to Wales means that in cases where a decision has been made not to proceed, victims here will be able to ask for a review that could change the outcome.
“This is an important step which will help build confidence in the justice system and bring more perpetrators to court.”

Brother found dead after neighbours raised alarm over distressed dog, Swansea Crown Court told

A MAN accused of murdering his brother is standing trial at Swansea Crown Court, where jurors heard harrowing evidence about the final hours of a 48-year-old man found dead at his home in Morriston.

Darren Steel, aged 41, from Morriston, Swansea, denies murdering his brother Martin Steel on May 20, 2023. He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Opening the prosecution case on Tuesday morning (Jan 27), prosecutor Andrew Jones told the jury that Martin Steel was discovered dead inside his flat at Hill View Crescent after neighbours became concerned when his dog was found whining alone in the garden at around 8.30am.

The court heard that neighbours attempted to alert Mr Steel but received no response. They took the dog into their home and noticed its fur was matted with a red-brown substance and that the animal appeared distressed.

Further attempts were made to get an answer at the flat before another neighbour suggested contacting Mr Steel’s mother, who had been due to go shopping with him that morning.

She arrived shortly afterwards but was unable to enter through the front door, which was deadlocked, or the back door, which had been chained shut. From inside the property, she heard a voice she recognised as belonging to her son Darren ask: “Who’s that?”

After identifying herself, she was asked: “Have you brought the police with you?”

She replied that she had not, and the door was then opened.

Upon entering the flat, she found Martin Steel slumped in a chair, his face covered in blood and his eyes and face severely swollen. Mr Jones told the court the injuries were consistent with what he described as an “aggressive, ferocious attack”.

The court heard that Martin Steel’s mother placed her hand on his forehead and checked for a pulse and heartbeat, but found none. His body was cold. She called 999 and, following instructions from the emergency call handler, moved him onto the floor.

Mr Jones told the jury that the defendant then fled the scene.

While tending to her son, she heard Darren Steel say: “He’s not dead,” after she said she could not find a pulse. She also described his eyes as looking “like a shark’s eyes”.

Emergency services arrived and attempted CPR, but Martin Steel was pronounced dead at 11.06am.

The court heard that Martin Steel suffered extensive injuries, including cuts, abrasions and bruising to his face and head, internal bruising, a fractured voice box and larynx horn, collapse of his airway, and a lower lip detached from his jaw. The injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma.

The prosecution say Darren Steel killed his brother during what was described as a “fit of extreme rage”. The defendant claims he acted in self-defence after being punched twice during an argument, saying he struck his brother four to five times lawfully.

Mr Jones told the jury that body-worn camera footage captured at the scene showed what he described as an “extreme violent attack” and “starkly exposes the lie” that Martin Steel was the aggressor.

After fleeing the flat, the defendant went to a friend’s address, where he arrived intoxicated and sobbing. He told the friend that an argument with his brother had “gone too far”. He was advised to hand himself in.

When a police van arrived nearby, officers asked the defendant to identify himself. He gave the name “Andrew Jones”. The friend mouthed his real name to officers, and Darren Steel was arrested and taken to Swansea Police Station.

At the police station, the court heard that the defendant said he had smoked heroin with his brother and his girlfriend. He claimed his brother had been “coming on to” his girlfriend and had punched him several times. He said he had stayed in the flat all night, placing pillows behind his brother’s head and neck, adding: “If he’s gone, it’s manslaughter.”

A post-mortem examination concluded that Martin Steel died from blunt impact trauma to the left side of his head and face and the front of his neck, together with airway impairment caused by the deliberate application of force to a vulnerable area of the body, consistent with an intention to kill.

A microscopic examination showed that Martin Steel survived for between three and six hours after the assault, during which time the defendant was present but did nothing to help him.

Mr Jones told the court: “This demonstrates he must have been in terrible pain and suffering for several hours. The defendant did not raise a finger to help him and did nothing to give his brother any chance of survival.

“The defendant’s only concern was purely for himself.”

Jurors were shown photographs and blood-spatter analysis which, the prosecution say, contradict the defendant’s claim that his brother was standing during the assault. Instead, the evidence was said to be consistent with a man being punched while seated in a chair.

Analysis of the defendant’s clothing suggested blood transfer occurred as the victim’s blood was beginning to clot, indicating what the prosecution described as prolonged violence.

The court also heard evidence about events in the days leading up to the death. Mr Jones told jurors that on May 18 and 19, 2023, the defendant was involved in what he described as escalating violence towards others.

The prosecution said Darren Steel had since been convicted of unlawful wounding after assaulting Julian Samuels by punching him, strapping him to a chair with parcel tape, continuing to strike him to the face and throat, pressing fingers into his eyes, and threatening to cut his throat.

The jury also heard that the defendant had been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, Dawn Begley, at Martin Steel’s flat the night before the killing. CCTV footage was shown of him chasing her with a hammer and later grabbing her by the hair in the road.

Ms Begley told the court she believed she would have been killed had she been forced back into the flat.

Mr Jones said the earlier incidents demonstrated an escalating pattern of violence that culminated in Martin Steel’s death.

He told the jury: “Darren Steel was in a fit of rage and he took it out on his brother. Martin Steel was incapable of defending himself. He stood idly by as his brother’s life ebbed away.”

The trial continues at 10.30am on Wednesday (Jan 28).