FISHGUARD and Goodwick Town Council has held two site meetings with transport officials to address pedestrian safety and longstanding traffic congestion problems in the area.

The first meeting took place with the South Wales Trunk Road Agency (SWTRA) in central Fishguard, where councillors reviewed existing pedestrian crossings and explored options for additional crossing points.

A second meeting was held in Lower Town Fishguard involving local representatives including Paul Davies MS and Ben Lake MP, alongside SWTRA and Welsh Government officials. Discussions focused on ongoing congestion and safety concerns on the narrow route through Lower Town and across the bridge.

The timing of the visit highlighted the issue, with the meeting reportedly delayed after a lorry became stuck in the area.

The Town Council said the discussions were productive, with Welsh Government representatives confirming that new traffic monitoring cameras will be introduced. The cameras are intended to gather detailed data on the length and width of vehicles travelling through the route.

Officials are also considering the possible introduction of priority access arrangements on the bridge as part of efforts to improve traffic flow and safety.

The long-discussed possibility of a separate pedestrian footbridge remains under consideration. However, the Town Council acknowledged that the proposal faces significant challenges, including flooding risks, environmental constraints, planning issues and costs.

Councillors shared findings from a recent local survey during the meeting and said they hope to collect pedestrian footfall data on the bridge, which will also be provided to Welsh Government to support future decision-making.

A TENBY man is due to appear before the court on Tuesday (Mar 3) charged with rape and sexual assault following an alleged incident last year.

Wayne Allen, aged 57, of St Julians Street, Tenby, is listed for a first hearing at 2:00pm.

He faces one count of rape, contrary to Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, relating to an allegation that on May 20, 2024, he intentionally penetrated a woman without her consent and without a reasonable belief that she was consenting.

Allen is also charged with sexual assault, contrary to Section 3 of the same Act, relating to alleged sexual touching of a woman between May 19 and May 20, 2024.

Rape is an indictable-only offence, meaning the case can only be dealt with at Crown Court, so the case will be sent up.

The Herald will report the outcome after the hearing.

Co-founder of Terrence Higgins Trust attended local plaque unveiling honouring friend Terry Higgins

A LEADING figure in the UK’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis has died aged 71 — just months after attending a plaque unveiling ceremony in Haverfordwest honouring his close friend Terry Higgins.

Martyn Butler, who helped establish the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1982 following Higgins’ death from an AIDS-related illness, died on Friday (Feb 21). He had remained active in awareness work for more than four decades and was widely recognised for his contribution to public health campaigning.

The Terrence Higgins Trust confirmed his death, paying tribute to his lifelong commitment to supporting people living with HIV and improving sexual health education across the UK.

Butler’s connection to Pembrokeshire was particularly strong. Terry Higgins, after whom the charity is named, grew up in Haverfordwest and attended Tasker Milward School. Higgins is widely recognised as one of the first people in the UK known to have died from AIDS-related complications in 1982.

Last year, Butler travelled to Haverfordwest to attend the unveiling of a blue plaque commemorating Higgins’ life. The ceremony marked an important moment in recognising both Higgins’ story and the wider history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which claimed thousands of lives in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s.

Friends and colleagues described Butler as a tireless advocate who helped shape the national response to the emerging AIDS crisis at a time when fear, stigma and misinformation were widespread.

In the early days of the epidemic, Butler famously used his own home telephone number as part of one of the UK’s first AIDS helplines, offering advice and support to people who had nowhere else to turn.

Over the decades that followed, the Terrence Higgins Trust grew into the country’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing testing services, education programmes, support networks and national campaigning.

Butler was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2022 in recognition of his services to people affected by HIV.

Tributes have been paid from across the UK health and charity sectors, with colleagues describing him as compassionate, determined and instrumental in changing public attitudes towards HIV.

His death comes at a time when medical advances mean people living with HIV can now expect near-normal life expectancy with treatment — a transformation many campaigners say would not have been possible without the groundwork laid by early activists such as Butler.

Local figures who met him during the Haverfordwest plaque unveiling said he remained passionate about ensuring the stories of those affected by HIV — including Terry Higgins — were remembered by future generations.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been publicly announced.

Image:

Martyn Butler at the Terry Higgins plaque unveiling in Haverfordwest (Pic: Martin Cavaney).