A PEMBROKESHIRE man must remove abandoned cars, scrap and other waste from his land within weeks or face a potential prison sentence following Pembrokeshire County Council court action.

John Goruffydd Arthur Haffield of Fron Haul, Clynderwen, has until May 9th 2024 to clear land east of Gower Villa Lane, Clynderwen after District Judge Pratt granted an injunction to the Council.

The Council sought the injunction after Mr Haffield failed to take action to clear the land following a Council Enforcement Notice issued in 2018.

Mr Haffield pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the Enforcement Notice in March 2021 but there remained no effort to clear the land.

If Mr Haffield does not comply with the injunction he will be guilty of contempt of court and face a potential prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine.

Concerns about the state of the land at Gower Villa Lane date back to 2017 when complaints were received by the Council’s Planning department.

Visits to site discovered a static caravan, abandoned vehicles, machinery, trailers, white goods and significant general waste.

The Council wrote to Mr Haffield asking that the land be cleared within 28 days.

Further letters followed before Mr Haffield finally responded in January 2018, claiming that he intended to clear the site by that August.

When that work was not undertaken the Enforcement Notice was issued.

Mr Haffield initially appealed but failure to communicate with the Planning Inspectorate saw the appeal closed and the prosecution for failing to comply proceed.

Mr Haffield was fined £500 and ordered to pay £550 in costs and surcharge.

At the County Court earlier this month, District Judge Pratt said Mr Haffield had a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the proceedings.

The Council was awarded costs of £1,132.The injunction requires the removal all un-roadworthy vehicles, articulated box trailer, static caravan, various tanks, tyres, piping, baths, patio heater, machinery, white goods, scrap metals, plastics, timber and all other waste materials by May 9.

All of the above must be disposed of at an authorised location.

Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery, Cllr Jon Harvey, said: “I welcome the decision to grant the injunction in this case and thank the Planning Enforcement and Legal Teams for their work
“It is a shame that this situation has got to a point where the Council has had no option but to take this course of action.
“This case is a prime example of what happens if you do not engage with planning colleagues or ignore enforcement notices. The problem will not go away.”

A CALL to end a 20-year legal agreement for financial contributions associated with the creation of Pembrokeshire’s Bluestone National Park Resort has been backed by both the county council and the national park.

In related submitted applications to both Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Pembrokeshire County Council, Bluestone Resorts Ltd asked to end a 2004 Section 106 legal agreement, used to pay towards various projects including enhancements to works including footpaths and bridges.

Bluestone has paid nearly £320,000 to date, and offered two further one-off payments to complete the agreement, reports for the two authorities have said.

Works have been predominantly in the area surrounding Bluestone, but include projects as far afield as Nevern, Solva, and Haverfordwest.

A supporting statement says that, since the agreement was made back in 2004, Bluestone has paid nearly £280,000, with the offer of a final fee of £113,000 being paid, spread over 2023, 2024, and 2025.

A report by national park officers, ahead of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Development Management Committee meeting of April 24, where it was recommended for approval, said: “Having considered the information submitted, officers consider that provided the two final payments [the 2023 having been made] are received the legal agreement has served its purpose and can be discharged.

“In order to ensure the two final payments are made, a modification to the Section 106 legal agreement is supported.  This decision is supported by Pembrokeshire County Council, who have received a concurrent application which is also recommended by officers for modification.”

The report said the £280,000 figure presented by Bluestone actually amounted to £318,703.87, taking into account a 2023 payment of £38,891.73.

It concluded: “The authority is satisfied that subject to two further payments of £38,000 to be made in August 2024 and August 2025, the obligation no longer serves a planning purpose and can be discharged and as such the obligation should be modified accordingly.”

At the April 23 meeting of the county council’s planning committee, members backed the application by 11 votes to two, following a recommendation for approval by Cllr Brian Hall.

The following day, the related application came before national park planners, with three members leaving the meeting as they had declared related interests in the item.

Cllr Rhys Jordan, who had also been present at the previous day’s meeting, moved approval: “The economic benefit of this facility is huge to Pembrokeshire; whilst these contributions may come to an end, the contribution to the county is huge.

“Bluestone has been at the forefront of all things hospitality, and everything they do is with the environment in mind.”

That application was unanimously approved by members present.

THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats renewed their demands for the implementation of child poverty targets.

According to a report from the Bevan foundation, 29% of children living in Wales are currently experiencing poverty (an estimated 190,000 children).

The same report highlighted that the largest percentage of children living in poverty are from working households or in couple households.

The Welsh Lib Dems are now renewing calls for the Welsh Government to create a set of targets for reducing child poverty, which the party argues will allow for more accountability.

The party has previously called for the implementation of targets, citing recommendations from the Calling Time on Child Poverty Report published in November last year.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “The latest statistics on childhood poverty in Wales paints a very distressing image of families across the country struggling to make ends meet.

Over the course of the last six years, the proportion of children in poverty has skyrocketed. Fuelled by worsening economic conditions and a complete lack of action from both governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.

We cannot act complacent about these figures nor accept the clear lack of progress in fighting child poverty, behind each statistic is a child that the state has failed.

It remains painfully clear that the Welsh Government is failing to make any meaningful progress in this fight, which is why they must follow through with the implementation of clear set targets that will allow for further accountability.

We as a party have continuously called for the creation of these targets and we will not be silenced. For the sake of future generations we urge the Welsh Government to listen.”