News

No play area for Dale but group aim to adapt

Published

8 years ago

April 10, 2018

Original plans: A play area in Dale

DESPITE being unable to achieve their primary aim of building a play area for Dale, the Dale Play Area Association (DPAA) will now look to transition into the role of a grant-giving charity that aids vulnerable children and adults in the area, as they host their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, April 25, at 74pm in the Jubilee Suite of the Coronation Hall.

The group was set up after the Youth Club had said there should be a play area in Dale. There was initial success as they received a commitment from Martyn Ryder, the land owner, that he would lease an area of the meadow in which
to site a play area.

The DPAA went on to obtain the status of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in January 2015, as well as planning permission in September 2015, holding fundraising events and receiving donations to pay for surveys, plans and legal costs.

The group had also passed the first hurdle of an application to the Welsh Government Rural Communities Development Fund for a grant to construct the play area. The association had carried out a questionnaire and held a consultation event in the Coronation Hall with locals and received overwhelmingly positive responses to their proposals. Plans were put on display in the village and the Annual General Meetings have been advertised in Peninsula Papers. This resulted in 160 people becoming members of the DPAA.

By September 2017 the association had signed the lease and were assured that Mr Ryder was just about to do likewise, when they were told, via his land agent, that he would not agree to the previously arranged agreement; instead offering to lease a smaller area, roughly one fifth of the original area. With the assistance of a play area specialist the group then devised a plan in which elements to benefit all ages could have been included in this smaller site.

An offer to arrange for this specialist to give Mr Ryder a presentation of this plan was declined, and Mr Ryder informed the association on January 21 2018, through his land agent, that he would not lease the DPAA any land whatsoever.

They have not yet been informed of the reasons for him not being willing to lease the small area but he had told them previously that his main concern about the larger area was noise pollution. He had also previously mentioned, through his land agent, that he was concerned about this area becoming an ‘ungoverned’ area where young adults would congregate.

It is the view of the DPPA that the type of area that had been planned would be likely to mitigate against poor behaviour in the village of Dale rather than increase it.

And so the Annual General Meeting of Dale Play Area Association has been called for votes on two issues. The first being as to whether clause 16 of the constitution be deleted, concerning the rule regarding reappointment of a charity trustee after three consecutive terms, and the second being the future of the DPAA, and whether the association should not be wound up but instead become a grant-giving charity.

The proposal is that the charity would give grants to local children or vulnerable adults or organisations serving local children or vulnerable adults to promote their well-being and/or to enable them to take part in adventurous, sporting, fun or cultural activities.

The trustees shall seek advice from the Charity Commission about whether it is necessary to change aspects such as the association’s name in order to carry out this role.

If this is necessary a further Special General Meeting of members will be called to consider an amendment to the constitution.

Crime

Man fined after police find revolver and bullets during property search

Published

3 minutes ago

February 11, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

Officers say weapon could be made operational despite claims it was obsolete

A MAN has been sentenced after police discovered a revolver and ammunition at his property despite him not holding a firearms certificate.

Magistrates sitting at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that officers attended Nicholas Anderson’s address on suspicion he was involved in drug supply.

During a search of an upstairs bedroom, they found a .320 calibre double-action revolver along with three bullets.

Prosecutor Nia James told the court that Anderson, aged 36, later claimed during interview that the weapon no longer worked and was obsolete.

“But when it was recovered, officers could see the spring had been taken out but could be adapted to become fully operational once again,” she said.

The court heard the revolver measured 15.6cm in length, with a 7.9cm barrel.

“It had component parts of a firearm and is subsequently a prohibited weapon,” Ms James added.

Anderson, who is currently serving a custodial sentence for an unrelated drug conviction, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm without a certificate.

Defence solicitor Alaw Harries said there was no suggestion the weapon had ever been used in criminal activity.

“There is no evidence to suggest the gun has ever been used in any crime,” she said.

“It was obtained prior to changes in the law and the defendant believed it was completely non-functioning. As far as he was concerned, he thought it was incapable of ever working again.”

Anderson, who is of no fixed address, was fined £40 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £16 surcharge.

(Picture for illustration purposes only)

Crime

Motorist says cannabis-laced food left him over drug-drive limit

Published

10 minutes ago

February 11, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

Court hears driver ‘unwittingly’ consumed drug at party before being stopped by police

A MOTORIST has told magistrates he ended up over the drug-drive limit after unknowingly eating food containing cannabis at a party.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that on October 25, Kerne Spiralson, aged 32, attended a gathering at an undisclosed location in north Pembrokeshire where he helped himself to a selection of food.

However, the court was told that one of the items had been prepared with cannabis, something Spiralson said he was unaware of at the time.

Later that evening, as he drove his Mazda 3 home along the Llanfyrnach–Tegryn road, he was stopped by police and subjected to a roadside drugs test.

The swipe test proved positive and subsequent analysis showed he had 7.8 micrograms of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his system. The legal limit is 2 micrograms.

Spiralson, of Pencraig, Llandysul, pleaded guilty to drug-driving.

Defence solicitor Fenn Richards told magistrates that because the cannabis had been consumed unknowingly within food, the case involved special circumstances which may allow the court to consider avoiding the mandatory driving disqualification.

Magistrates adjourned the case for sentencing, which will take place on March 26.

Spiralson was released on unconditional bail.

Crime

Driver over drug limit after taking cocaine to ease leg pain

Published

12 minutes ago

February 11, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

Blood tests showed level nearly five times the legal threshold

A MOTORIST who admitted taking cocaine to try to ease ongoing leg pain has been banned from driving after being caught over the drug-drive limit in Pembrokeshire.

Richard Smith, aged 41, was stopped by police on the night of October 6 while driving his Skoda Enyaq along Pope Hill in Johnston.

Officers carried out a roadside drugs test which proved positive. Smith was arrested and taken to the police station, where blood analysis later revealed 236 micrograms of benzoylecgonine – a cocaine metabolite – in his system. The legal limit is 50.

Smith pleaded guilty to drug-driving when he appeared before magistrates at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.

Defence solicitor Fenn Richards said her client had travelled to Milford Haven to support a family member.

“His nephew had been having a hard time with depression, so he came down to spend some time with him,” she said.

“But the defendant had recently suffered a car accident and had run out of painkillers while he was in the area. He turned to cocaine to help relieve his pain.”

The court heard Smith had taken the drug around five days before driving and had not realised it could remain detectable in his system for that length of time.

Magistrates disqualified Smith, of Walnut Way, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, from driving for 14 months.