Local AM Angela Burns and Welsh Conservative Leader Paul Davies paid a visit to Bluestone National Park Resort.

The holiday resort based at Canaston Bridge, near Narberth, was visited by the Welsh Assembly members last Friday when they learnt about how Bluestone is developing even more ways of being sustainable.

Bluestone resort, which opened in 2008, stretches over 500 acres, making it one of the largest resorts in West Wales.

Since its opening, over 300,000 shrubs and trees have been planted across the site, which was previously a dairy farm.

Members met head of corporate responsibility, Marten Lewis, where they learnt about the environment of the resort, and how guests are encouraged to support the local wildlife.

One innovative example of this is that the resort charges 50p for people to use food to feed the ducks.

The money raised then goes back to the Bluestone Foundation which was set-up to help people through environmental, economic and social projects in Pembrokeshire.

The Bluestone Foundation has supported many projects over the years, including Action for Children and the Paul Sartori Foundation.

Mr. Davies and Ms. Burns were then given a tour of the resort’s catering facilities where they learnt that less than one percent of waste goes to a landfill site.

Mr. Lewis said that the resort reformed its waste management which was important as Bluestone is full 96 per cent of the time all year round.

Some of the reforms that Bluestone have taken are as follows: the resort has redirected over 70 tonnes of food from black bins (about an elephant a month in weight), they have also pushed their recycle rate up to 60 per cent (this equates to approximately an extra 18 tonnes of material being sent for recycling - about the same weight as 1.2 million empty Coke cans, or 15 Nissan Micras) and reduced single use plastic across the business by 200,000 pieces.

Additionally, Bluestone has reduced its electricity consumption by 3.5 percent and sends all restaurant food waste to anaerobic digestion.

After visiting the Bluestone kitchens, the AMs then visted the new Serendome building.

Serendome (Seren means star in Welsh) opened last year and was built to allow people to enjoy aspects of the countryside, even if the weather is rough.

It has 200 trees, 5,000 plants and even an outdoor theatre where 400 people can enjoy entertainment thanks to its projected screen.

Additionally, thanks to its innovative transparent roof, people can see the stars at night.

Speaking after the visit, Welsh Conservative AM for South Pembrokeshire and West Carmarthenshire, Angela Burns, said: “I was astonished, I always knew that they ran everything off biomass boilers, but having seen what they’ve done over the last year and a half with their other drives in sustainability, the development of the lake eco system, the way they’ve turned food waste into fuel.

“I think it’s fantastic. I’ve been here a number of years trying to support William McNamara (CEO) and the team at Bluestone in their vision and to see how it’s developed over the years.

“They are an exemplar and I think that was born by Sophie Howe (Future Generations Commissioner for Wales) who came down here and said wow.”

As mentioned previously, the resort is nearly full to capacity all year round, meaning that it plays a vital role in Pembrokeshire’s economy.

“The statistics are that they are 96 percent full every week of the year, that is unheard of, that is industry gold standard, added Ms. Burns.

“It’s got to be good for Pembrokeshire because for a start the people that it employs; hundreds of people come and work here, they haven’t just got a job for the summer.

“It’s important for Pembrokeshire to have some real big key organisations offering good tourism experiences, destination marketing, it will bring more people in and smaller operators will all benefit from it.”

Welsh Conservative Leader, Paul Davies AM, said: “Bluestone contributes so much to the local economy, it employs over 700 people which means Bluestone looks after families and we see thousands of people visit Pembrokeshire.

“Its brilliant to see the new Serendrome which was opened last year and it’s a fantastic addition to the resort.

“It makes sure that people can still enjoy themselves, even if the weather isn’t too good.”

Speaking following the visit, Bluestone CEO William McNamara said: “We were delighted to welcome our local Assembly representatives Paul Davies and Angela Burns to Bluestone.

“We are incredibly proud of the fantastic staff we have from across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire working on the resort, and the efforts the whole Bluestone team are making to be as sustainable as possible.

“We also work with so many excellent partners, charities and businesses across the county that make the work we do at Bluestone possible.

“The opening of the Serendome last year was a significant milestone for the resort. We look forward to welcoming even more guest and visitors to the resort this year - we want Bluestone to be a true gateway to Pembrokeshire.”

With the Senedd elections in May 2021, politicians have already been announcing policies should their respective party win a majority.

When asked what climate change policies the Welsh Conservatives would be taking to the election, Mr. Davies said: “We want a Clean Air Act, we want to create free air zones, those are the sort of things we want to do.

“We will be announcing further policies between now and the Assembly election next year.”

However, Mr. Davies praised Bluestone for the sustainable way it is run and called on other businesses to follow their example.

“Bluestone is a fantastic example of how to run a sustainable business and it’s great what they are doing with recycling and what they’re doing with their waste,” remarked Mr. Davies.

Ms. Burns will be defending her South Pembrokeshire and West Carmarthenshire seat for the fourth time in 2021.

After the visit the AM was pressed on what she would do for her constituents if she got re-elected.

She said improving and protecting the local economy was her aim.

“It’s got to be about getting good quality jobs, that pay well and are secure because from then you can do things like take tax money to invest in schools, hospitals, you can help build communities.

“We need to attract people, we want them to come here and live in West Wales and make their homes here in Pembrokeshire.

“People need good schools, good medical facilities, good jobs, good housing, what isn’t there to like about being here.”