News

National Parks to merge

Published

11 years ago

August 5, 2014

tegryn-jones SET UP in the 1950s, Wales’ national parks were created to enhance and protect the environment. Around 12 million people visit the three national parks every year. Now the Welsh Government is reported to be considering proposals to merge the three bodies into one and there are fears the review is a pretext to strip away their planning powers and hand them over to local councils. A County Council spokesperson told the Herald: “We recognise there are opportunities to work more closely with the National Park and believe that such a relationship could deliver a more efficient and effective service. This is an arrangement encouraged by the Welsh Government.” Welsh environment minister John Griffiths has revealed that a review will be announced within weeks. Mr Griffiths said: “We’re looking at the governance, whether there may be direct elections for the councillors who sit on the national parks for example or whether there might be one for national parks for the whole of Wales. “As well as the very important landscape issues, and connecting people with national parks, increasingly we’re going to be talking about the social and economic as well as the environmental because they all have to click together.” The threat to the Parks’ autonomy is not new, but pressure is growing on the Welsh Government to merge the Park Authorities’ functions and remove their planning powers. Mr Griffiths would not be drawn on whether the review would tackle planning services delivered by the National Parks, stating that such a bill would be the responsibility of the Welsh Government’s planning minister. Speaking on behalf of National Parks Wales, Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority commented: “The Williams Commission review made a series of recommendations on the role of National Park Authorities in Wales and highlighted the vital role that the Park Authorities play in conserving National Parks and ensuring their future protection and development. “The review also recognised that Wales’ National Parks are important national assets, generating £1billion for the Welsh economy each year and attracting 12 million visitors. “The need for greater collaborative working, as outlined in the review, has already been recognised across the three National Park Authorities, as well as with relevant local authorities and national bodies and joint projects are being planned to provide the best and most efficient use of resources. “The review did not, however, recommend that planning powers be removed from National Park Authorities. “We welcome the Welsh Government’s governance review and look forward to supporting the review process to ensure that National Parks in Wales continue to play a fundamental role in contributing to the success of Wales.” Pembrokeshire Council Leader Jamie Adams has previously made clear his preference for taking on the National Park’s planning powers. At a meeting of the Welsh Local Government Association in June 2013, he said: “You have two organisations, two public bodies providing the same services within the same county. There are opportunities to look at reducing the tax burden on the public of those services.” In Pembrokeshire, that would have meant the County Council having control of its own application to site a rubbish tip next to Brooklands Care Home: a project that the National Parks authority made sure did not happen.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

37 minutes ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon last week, marking the start of physical
deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on
shortly after 4pm on Wednesday 26th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy
components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the
existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.
The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-
loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through
Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the
latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived last week yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are
expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be
blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with
a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG
terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to
power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.

Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s the arrival of
the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are
expected to begin early next year, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-
bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.
Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery
programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.