News

Investigation as Cabinet member “misled” by officer

Published

1 year ago

August 9, 2024

A SENIOR officer has been accused of misleading Pembrokeshire Cabinet member Rhys Sinnett about a contract to purchase electric vehicles for the County Council’s fleet.

An investigation led by Council CEO Will Bramble is underway, and a disciplinary panel has been called to consider the incident.
The issue concerns the process used to okay the vehicles’ purchase.
On June 24, Cllr Sinnett approved the purchase of 32 electric vehicles, 21 small vans and 11 large vans at a price of £1.04m.
Shortly after the meeting with officers that okayed the purchase, the IPG called in the decision to be reconsidered by the Cabinet.
On July 4, the Head of Infrastructure and the Environment, Darren Thomas, told the Chief Executive and Cabinet Member about the cock up and that the vehicles had already arrived.
Will Bramble rapidly decided the report given to Rhys Sinnett was incorrect and, on July 9, asked Cllr Sinnett to rescind it.
Cllr Sinnett rescinded his decision on the same day.
The report, into which some of the Council’s most senior officers had input, did not tell Cllr Sinnett that – far from approving the future purchase of vehicles – officers had made an elementary blunder during the procurement process.
Officers failed to understand that instead of negotiating an option to purchase the vehicles, they had – in fact – committed the Council to their purchase. In addition, at least some of the vehicles concerned had already been delivered to the local authority and modified for its use.
In other words, by the time Cllr Sinnett was asked to approve the purchase, the vehicles had already been bought.
A contributor, possibly more than one, to the report given to him on June 24 withheld that information.
The Council’s purchase of the vehicles is neither here nor there. The Welsh Government has set aside funding to transition Welsh local authorities from fossil fuels to electric vehicles. The funding for the vehicles’ purchase came from a pot earmarked for that purpose.

Faced with Hobson’s choice, the Cabinet retrospectively approved buying 32 electric vehicles it already owned.

That is not the key issue.
Council Deputy Leader Paul Miller spelt out the more significant issue: Either deliberately or by omission, a senior officer materially misled a Cabinet member about the background and facts relating to significant capital investment.
The report handed to Cllr Sinnett on June 24 gave him no clue that the vehicles’ purchase had been completed.
Cllr Sinnett was only asked to give authority “to enter a contract with FleetEV for the purchases of 31 EV small vans and 11 EV large vans.”
Cllr Miller, like Cllr Sinnett, was clearly livid at the extent of the deceit.
The former said the issue involved “trust and confidence” in the person or persons who decided to withhold key information from an elected member of the Council’s Cabinet.
Purchasing the vehicles, which was the focus of the IPG’s latest complaint about the steps being taken by the Council to meet its statutory obligation, is not the issue.
As Cllr Miller put it, replacing vehicles at the end of their life is a no-brainer. As anyone with any commercial sense knows, trying to stretch an asset’s life is throwing good money after bad in terms of maintenance and opportunity costs.
The key point is that one or more of the Council’s most senior officers has materially misled a Cabinet member about a seven-figure purchase.
The questions that arise are obvious.
If a senior officer has deliberately withheld information or misled a Cabinet member, have they done so previously, and can they be trusted in the future?
That is very much more important than ridiculous attempts at point-scoring about buying electric vehicles in the first place.
So, in a backhanded way, the IPG has actually drawn a crucial issue to light, albeit entirely by accident.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

2 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, 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 shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, 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, 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 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.

Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s 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 next week, 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

2 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.

Local Government

Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Council pollution officers say they have no enforcement powers over Welsh Water infrastructure

SEWAGE contamination on the Commons in Pembroke has prompted an urgent response from pollution officers, after a leak was reported by a member of the public on Tuesday.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team confirmed they were alerted yesterday afternoon to sewage surrounding a manhole cover on the site. The Herald understands that officers immediately notified Welsh Water (DCWW) network technicians to investigate the incident “as a matter of urgency”.

County councillor Jonathan Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the authority had been clear that it holds no enforcement powers over Welsh Water assets.

“Whilst we work constructively with Welsh Water, we have no authority to intervene on their apparatus or to carry out enforcement action against them for such pollution incidents,” the Pollution Control Team said in a statement shared with the councillor.

Urgent works underway

Council officers visited the site on Wednesday morning alongside contractors and Welsh Water technicians to assess clean-up options. According to the team, works will include cleaning the contaminated ground in and around the manhole cover and fencing off the affected area “until safe”.

Cllr Grimes said officers would return to the scene on Thursday to check on progress and ensure the area is properly secured.

Residents who notice any further issues have been urged to contact the Pollution Control Team directly.

Further updates are expected later this week.