News

Councillors covet retractable fountain

Published

4 years ago

March 9, 2022

Carli Newell

HAVERFORDWEST Town Council has exciting plans for the County town.

But those plans are so exciting most town councillors don’t want the public to know about them.

That’s why a public meeting scheduled for this Friday (March 4) was cancelled when the Town Council applied pressure to the host venue to stop it from happening.

KEEPING THE PUBLIC ILL-INFORMED THE PRIORITY

The meeting was scheduled for the Bluebirds Bar at Haverfordwest County FC.

The Town Council told the Club the event was not approved by it and could “misinform the public.”

The Club rents the ground from the Bridge Meadow Trust. The Trust is intimately involved with the Town Council, which has representatives on the Board of Trustees.

The reader might wonder at the Kremlin-esque reluctance for public involvement and the Council’s wish to manage events’ narrative.

Cllr Jill Owens commented: “The Club was approached to host the event due to the size of the venue and for their involvement in the Community.

“There was no intention to ‘misinform’ the public. We are transparent about the meeting’s aim: to listen to the Community’s views and what they want and then pass them onto the relevant persons.

“An email to all Councillors from the Town Clerk in the week stated, if the public are misinformed at any consultation, it could have a negative impact on this Council and other organisation, which could create issues for future funding opportunities including this one.”

Cllr Jonathan Twigg echoed her views.

Cllr Twigg told us: “We both believe that Town Council should hear the voice and ideas of the residents; Councillors had the opportunity to highlight their thoughts, which included the pedestrianisation of the Town Centre.

“There is an opportunity to input further ideas and we can only do that by being a voice of the community back to the consulting company as they look to prioritise and deliver actions on the available funding to Pembrokeshire County Council.”

The opportunities the Council identifies are so exciting the public isn’t allowed to know about them.

So exciting, it’s a mystery why the public doesn’t know more about them.

It should; so, here we go into the future.

THE SILO IN THE SQUARE

Imagine Castle Square, Haverfordwest, with a fountain.

But not any old fountain.

When not in use, one that sinks back underground like a missile in a silo – another Kremlin-Esque touch, perhaps.

A retractable fountain would be a centre of attraction in the middle of the town.

The cost of installing such a feature would be as remarkable as the planning decision to rip up Castle Square, remove and replace service ducts and utilities serving the rest of the town centre, repave the square, maintain the fountain’s mechanism and ensure it couldn’t be vandalised.

But that’s what Haverfordwest Town Council is considering.

Having moved the Town Council offices and acquired a new building with almost no hint of public scrutiny and disposed of the Picton Centre with a similar level of engagement, Haverfordwest Town Council seems keen to press on without opening up its plans for public consideration. The secrecy is particularly remarkable, as the public will pay for the upkeep of the fountain in the town centre.

But what’s the point of having one fountain on its own?

Two floating fountains in the River Cleddau could also be on the cards.

If nothing else, they’ll startle ducks bobbing along the surface of the notoriously flood-prone river.

Equally startling is the absence of minutes for 2022 from the Town Council’s website and the frequency with which its members choose to exclude the public and the press. The frequency with which the Council excludes the press and public when discussing its remarkable plans for spending public money and hides away its decisions is also surprising.

You might imagine the Council would want to publicise and gain public support for an erection of a fountain in the middle of the town, especially in an area busy by both day and night.

But they don’t seem that keen.

Remarkable.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

And, again, they’ll use public money for their construction, maintenance, and security.

The source of that money will be a fund intended to rejuvenate town centres. It’s a Welsh Government funding stream only available for designated purposes.

Like retractable fountains.

The scheme is not new; it’s been around for over a year.

Part of the funding for the Riverside improvements comes from the same source.

The Council has discussed the fund for over a year. Still, it is yet to consult with the public on anything resembling a coherent plan.

An email to all Councillors from the Town Clerk in the week stated that if the public is misinformed at any consultation, it could harm the Town Council and other organisations, creating potential issues for future funding opportunities.

The public was scarcely aware of the Council’s plans to flog off the Picton Centre. The public scarcely beat a path to the Council’s door to demand it relocate to a building on an expensive lease with an option to buy when it already owned its own offices. But without public engagement, the Council doesn’t have a clue what the public want.

Becoming a Haverfordwest Town councillor doesn’t mean listening to the public; in most cases, it doesn’t even mean getting elected.

The treasonous suggestion that councillors don’t always know best is rarely raised.

And the failure to consult on a giant underground water pistol must be the cherry on the cake of keeping the public in the dark.

It’s almost as though the Town Council wants to invoke a sense of urgency to generate support for its idea.

News

Parties make final push as Wales prepares to vote in historic Senedd election

Published

15 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Campaign leaders criss-cross country in last-minute battle for crucial votes

WALES heads to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) after a frenetic final day of campaigning that saw party leaders, candidates and activists make one last push to win over undecided voters in what is being described as the most unpredictable Senedd election in modern Welsh history.

With polling stations due to open at 7:00am, parties spent Wednesday targeting key battleground constituencies across the country, including the new Ceredigion Penfro seat, amid growing expectations of a fragmented Senedd and a dramatic shake-up in Welsh politics.

The election is the first to be held under Wales’ new expanded Senedd system, with 96 Members of the Senedd being elected across 16 large constituencies using a proportional closed-list voting system.

Reform UK appeared to finish the campaign with significant momentum following a major rally on Tuesday attended by party leader Nigel Farage. The event drew large crowds and considerable online attention as Reform attempted to convert strong polling figures into seats in Cardiff Bay for the first time.

Farage used the rally to attack both Labour and Plaid Cymru, while positioning Reform as the party of “change” for disillusioned voters. Reform campaigners have focused heavily on immigration, cost of living pressures and opposition to what they describe as “wasteful government spending.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth spent the final day presenting his party as the main alternative to both Labour and Reform UK, insisting Plaid could “build a fairer Wales” while warning against what he described as “divisive politics.”

Labour figures, including First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader Huw Irranca-Davies, urged voters not to “take risks” with public services, arguing only Welsh Labour could protect the NHS and local councils during a period of economic uncertainty.

Labour activists were heavily focused on turnout operations in traditional strongholds, amid polling suggesting the party could lose ground after decades as the dominant force in Welsh politics.

The Conservatives attempted to rally core voters with warnings about both Labour and Reform, while also focusing on farming, the rural economy and healthcare waiting lists.

In west Wales, Conservative candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz spent the day meeting voters and carrying out final campaign visits across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, arguing their experience and local knowledge would be important under the new electoral system.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party also maintained visible campaigns in several areas, hoping tactical voting and the proportional voting system could help them secure representation.

Across Wales, campaign teams handed out leaflets outside transport hubs, supermarkets and town centres, while social media campaigning intensified throughout the day.

Political analysts believe turnout could prove decisive, particularly because the new voting system means relatively small shifts in support could determine the allocation of the fifth and sixth seats in many constituencies.

The campaign has been dominated by debates over the NHS, farming, the economy, transport, tourism and the rising cost of living, alongside concerns about the future direction of Welsh devolution.

Polling stations open across Wales from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday, with counting due to begin on Friday morning.

The Herald will provide live election coverage online throughout polling day and count day, including updates from count centres, candidate interviews and reaction as results emerge from across west Wales and the rest of the country.

News

Plaid Cymru projected to lead Senedd as Labour faces historic collapse

Published

15 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final poll suggests Welsh politics could be on the brink of a major realignment

PLAID CYMRU is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, according to the final YouGov MRP projection for ITV Cymru Wales before polling day.

The model suggests Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh elections could be coming to an end, with Plaid projected to win 43 seats in the newly expanded 96-member Senedd.

Reform UK is forecast to finish second on 34 seats, while Labour is projected to fall to just 12.

The poll, based on responses from more than 4,600 adults between April 25 and May 4, puts Plaid Cymru on 33% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 29%. Labour is on 12%, the Conservatives on 9%, the Greens on 8% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Labour facing major losses

The projection points to a dramatic collapse in Labour support across Wales.

YouGov’s central estimate would represent a notional loss of 32 seats for Labour compared with the 2021 result under the new electoral system.

It would also be Labour’s worst result at any major Welsh election since 1906.

The model suggests Labour may fail to top the poll in any of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, and could return no members at all in four of them.

In west Wales, Labour’s support is projected to have fallen into single figures in some areas.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who leads Labour’s list in Ceredigion Penfro, could also be at risk if the projection proves accurate.

Reform surge

Reform UK is projected to make major gains, rising from just 1% of the vote in 2021 to 29% in the final pre-election model.

The party’s support appears to be spread widely across Wales, though it is weaker in Cardiff and strongest in parts of the south Wales valleys.

One of the most striking projections is in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, which includes the Merthyr Tydfil area where Keir Hardie was elected as Wales’s first Labour MP in 1900.

There, YouGov’s central estimate puts Reform UK narrowly ahead on 34%, Plaid Cymru on 33%, and Labour on 14%.

Smaller parties

The Conservatives are projected to win just four seats, which would be their weakest devolved election result.

That would leave them one short of the five members needed to form an official political group in the Senedd.

The Greens are forecast to enter the Senedd for the first time, winning two seats in Cardiff.

The Liberal Democrats are projected to win one seat in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, keeping Jane Dodds in the Senedd.

No majority expected

No party is projected to win the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.

YouGov’s modelling suggests Plaid Cymru would be best placed to lead the next Welsh Government, but would probably need support from another party.

Plaid and Labour together reach a majority in most of the model’s simulations, while a Plaid-Green arrangement does so far less often.

A Reform-Conservative majority appears unlikely in the projection.

Under the new D’Hondt voting system, small movements in vote share could still make a significant difference, particularly for the final seats in each constituency.

Polling stations open tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.