Among matters considered and discussed at this month’s meeting of Penally Community Council were the following:

Consideration of the position for new councillors: Mr. Willett and Mr. Cavill addressed the council, respectively, following which they left the meeting. Clr. Neal proposed that both candidates be co-opted to fulfil the two remaining spaces for councillors. Clr. P. Bradbury seconded the proposal, with all council in full agreement. The clerk was to contact both candidates inviting them to the March meeting to officially accept their offered positions.

Planning

Lydstep Beach Holiday Park - Removal and reduction of specified trees. Following consideration, the council did not have any concerns or objections to this application.

County Clr. Jon Preston’s report

Penally Grange: Severe disruption was caused at the Paddock on Tuesday, February 12, by heavy goods vehicles believed to have been servicing the Penally Grange development at the rear of the old Night Owl building. The huge vehicles had used the Paddock as a turning/offloading area. This prevented the 349 bus service from travelling through the village road and the refuse collectors were unable to access some properties due to the obstruction caused by these vehicles. I have reported the incident to the planning enforcement officer, head of highways and Dyfed Powys Police. Heavy vehicles have been reported as using the Paddock to turn and park up since the development began. The unadopted road and pavements are in danger of becoming increasingly damaged by this traffic. I have made it clear in my correspondence to Pembrokeshire County Council that I cannot accept this disruption as part of the development process as there are alternative options that can be considered for parking and manoeuvring of these large vehicles. We are also continually challenged in maintaining a bus route through the village which is regularly unable to pass through due to the road being impassable.

Petanque/boules area update: I will shortly be meeting with officers of the council to discuss the next steps. It is likely that a pre-planning advice will be required prior to making a formal planning application. The pre-application advice will I understand require a fee. Once the planning aspect is understood, a site meeting will be held with myself, the chairman of the Petanque Club and officers of PCC’s property department. Funding may be possible from the Improving Pembrokeshire Grant Funding or the Welsh Sports Foundation.

Community Support Grant: I have made an approach to Pembroke Power Station to seek a community support grant. If the bid is successful we could receive a contribution to offset the cost of some of the other activities that the community council has previously supported.

Budget considerations: At a recent budget seminar, councilors were asked to consider maintaining the current arrangement for supporting the Pembrokeshire Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). Members were asked to consider using the second homes council tax to meet this cost. Whilst I understand the need to continue support of the CAB, I did raise the point that the second homes council tax was intended to offset the effects of second home ownership in the county and that those who pay the premium in general wish to see it spent on improving facilities where their second homes are i.e. playparks and upkeep of communal areas etc.

It is also worth noting that whilst PCC plans to close Tenby Tourist Information Centre next year due to it costing £45,000 per annum, investment in other areas to promote tourism is to continue. The Long Course and Ironman events in the county continue to be supported by PCC. There is no doubt that these events are of great benefit to the local economy and are key dates in our events calendar.

For Ironman, the agreement for the 2017-2021 made by Cabinet was for the sum of £50,000 by PCC. A further £5,000 to be agreed annually is to be paid by Tenby Town Council, with all PCC services to be provided on the day ‘in kind’.

For the Long Course weekend, the sum of £20,000 was agreed by cabinet for the 2019 event. Again, all PCC services during that weekend will be provided ‘in kind’. This is on the understanding that Activity Wales will review opportunities to promote Pembrokeshire as a tourism destination. Looking at promoting tourism overall, I think there is little doubt that these events are a worthwhile investment, but may have an adverse financial impact on other tourist services, namely the Tenby Tourist Information Centre.

Preparations for Leaving the EU: The local authority and members have recently been briefed on preparing for leaving the European Union without a deal. It is expected that supply streams will be affected, and this may have an impact on delivering some services. As we enter new trade deals, costs will change accordingly and the challenge will be to minimise the impact on services and setting future budgets.

Clr. Neal - Report on behalf of PLANED

Clr. Neal attended a meeting at Hermonon February 5. This was arranged by PLANED, with Chris Johnes of the Building Communities Trust.

It was a good meeting and all well run by Jesse from PLANED and Chris Johnes who led us through their thoughts and ideas as to how to influence the Welsh government on issues relating to communities in rural Wales. Chris sits on the third sector partnership council who meets with the ministers every quarter.

Around 30 people from Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion attended; they represented councils, village halls, community associations, forums etc. As always with these meetings, it was what they wanted to find out from us that was important to them. We split into groups to conduct workshops and then report back for general discussion.

What is always useful at these meetings is the opportunity to meet with other local people and compare notes and ideas on the way that they have done or intend to do certain things that we could replicate in our community.

Solver care, which is often held up as a wonderful scheme organised by locals for the benefit of locals, started with the survey under the umbrella of Well-being in the Community. This type of survey is being used in some other locations within Pembrokeshire. We may find that the county council will ask us for some feedback of our needs and assets in an effort to start the process of finding out what they need to do for the well-being of residents.

With regard to the best use of village assets such as the hall, one of the council’s present was promoting the idea that their hall is used as a bunkhouse for organisations such as the Guiding movement or the Scouting movement. This brought in good revenue for the hall. They were also arranging an end Wednesday for all the organisations operating within the village. This helps them all have a better understanding of what goes on within the village and not just what goes on in the Village Hall itself. Some communities are very interested in ‘Crow News’ and the ability to create contact with all residents in this way.

Crow News

Discussion took place regarding the printing costs of the Crow News and whether the council would consider making a quarterly donation to the Village Hall to assist with the costs, with the Village Hall committee taking on the responsibility for the newsletter in full. Clr. Neal advised the council that an offer had been put forward to print the newsletter for 1/2p per side of print, not including the cost of the paper, on a voluntary basis. This item has been diarised for the March meeting following further enquiries.

Village Speedwatch Update

The clerk advised the council that contact had been made with the Policing Team supporting this initiative. If any persons wish to be considered as Speed Watch Volunteers or would like further information, please contact the clerk. This heading has been diarised for March.

Proposed LDP Candidate Sites

Following a lengthy discussion regarding the candidate sites within Penally, Clr. Bradbury proposed the clerk write a suitable letter of objection to the Pembrokeshire County Council - Local Development Plan advising them of the major concerns that Penally Community Council have regarding the proposed candidate sites - 255, 256 and 257; Clr. D’Arcy seconded the proposal, with all council in full agreement.

Concerns raised included:

• Any development in this area will have a detrimental effect on the major flooding issues within this part of the village and potentially leading to further flooding issues at Gumfreston.

• This area is an historic wetland offering a multitude of plants and fauna, if development goes ahead, this bit of Penally’s history and wildlife will be lost forever.

• With approval by the Pembrokeshire County Council of two major developments in this area (one in construction stage and one having just been approved with no construction commenced to date), there will be a massive strain on the already overloaded sewerage system within Penally, as well as the increase of traffic onto a very narrow, hazardous village road and cycle path. This roadway is a well used access road to the three local schools.

• It is commonly known that this site floods regularly.

• Penally village is separated from Tenby by this last belt of green space. If development took place here Penally village would inevitably merge with Tenby town, losing its independence and village appeal.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 13.

Clr. Bradbury brought it to the council’s attention that, due to prior commitments, the annual meeting of Penally Community Council is now proposed to be held on May 15 (to be confirmed at the next meeting).