December was a fairly busy month in Saundersfoot starting with flash floods around Brewery Terrace. I would like to thank the various teams who came out to help and make sure everything returned to normal. Thanks to the local fire brigade and the team at PCC who came and cleaned up and cleared the drains.
The situation of the blocked drain outside the Boat House in Cambrian Terrace has been particularly bad during this month. It seems that there isn’t a connected pipe for the excess water to run off. PCC discovered that the connection has been damaged at the same time that there was development across the road. I’ve been assured that this will be attended to in the new year.
Had a very positive meeting with the Highways department regarding various areas of the village. We discussed the situation on Milford Street along with other parts that could be improved. The discussions are around moving the current crossing in the village and making it more central and safer. Highways are looking at detailed plans that will improve safety with central crossing points especially when the 20mph limit comes in September.
Regarding recent talks with PCC and the new 20mph speed limit coming into force, the main arteries into the village are likely to become 20mph roads. We still have a few questions regarding the buffer zones and will take this up with PCC. This would hopefully enable the scheme to put in extra 30-minute bays and disabled bays on Brewery Terrace. These improved plans are in the pipeline and hopefully I will be able to share good news with you as soon as funding has been secured.
It was fantastic to see the village switch on their Christmas lights with the highlight being the main tree. There was also a new ‘Welcome to Saundersfoot’ sign and it was lovely having the school singing carols in the heart of the village. Our village tree always looks amazing and to see the lights around the village gets you into the Christmas spirit. The Plaza along with the cabins made for a lovely Christmas atmosphere. Well done to all those involved and great to see a buzz around the village during the switch on.
Had an important meeting with my fellow county councillor, Alec Cormack, along with the Headmaster and chair of governors of Saundersfoot school. We spoke about the current financial crisis hitting not only Pembrokeshire County Council but across the board and we need to make sure our village school thrives. We have an excellent school with hard working, dedicated staff and we need to ensure that the school is supported in its aim to raise standards. There will be opportunities for the school to increase pupil numbers with four potential developments on the horizon. It has been difficult for local people to afford to buy or rent locally, so hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities for them to have an affordable housing scheme that suits them. Hopefully then there will be a new wave of local children walking to the village school.
It was a privilege to attend the Senior Citizens Christmas Party at the Regency Hall in December. The weather was particularly cold which did result in a few not being able to attend. There was still a good turnout, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I would like to thank Sue and Emma at the Regency, the Lions and the Community Council for their support, Butch for entertaining and also Matt & Claire from the Cube who provided the excellent food. A point I would like to raise would be to be more inclusive in the future and expand the boundaries to include all Saundersfoot residents. The Regency Hall and the caterers from the Cube can certainly cope with the extra numbers.
During the icy conditions I had numerous calls regarding dangerous areas such as slippery steps and the Health Centre car park. I would like to compliment the staff at PCC with regard to the rear steps of the surgery and car park as they came out within thirty minutes and sorted the problem along with other hazardous parts in the village. There was also an incident of the early hours of Christmas Eve where a car collided with the hedge outside Wesley Chapel on the junction of Westfield Road. PCC responded straight away and cleared the pavement and debris immediately.
We have two substantial local housing plans coming to National Parks Development Management Committee, the new proposed development by Persimmon Homes on Sandyhill Road along with the proposed development of the Royal Oak Inn. I would like to point out for the record that I have declared a prejudicial and personal interest on both sites. For the Persimmon development, this is a Housing Allocation site identified in LDP 2, adopted by PCNPA in September 2020 following scrutiny at a Public Hearing in July 2019. What is currently up for discussion is the full planning detail. I welcome the affordable housing aspect but have raised three points to NP to be taken into consideration.
Entries for the Saundersfoot Tri were released back in September 2022 for athletes to enter for Saturday, September 2nd. I did raise my concerns with Saundersfoot Harbour and senior business owners along with residents on The Stand regarding this date. My concerns were that it’s still technically the school summer holidays and parking is at a premium. How could the village lose the main car park for four days at the end of August to host this event. There was also the issue of the Strand business owners along with the rental properties being caught up in a situation where they would find it extremely hard to work efficiently. As a village we do all work together and we want to encourage events as this adds to the vibe and gives Saundersfoot a great name of a community working together. With this in mind I’ve had many meetings with Activity Wales along with my fellow County Councillors Alec Cormack and Rhys Jordan. It was put forward that we hold this event on Friday evening, the 1st of September. We then approached residents along with business owners and Saundersfoot Harbour on how we can make this fit in with the community. We now have the harbour working as a car park, the bike racking will now be set up at Saundersfoot school and the finishing line will be on a proposed closed Strand on Friday evening subject to approval from PCC. This will allow athletes to perform in a packed village where they will be fully supported, businesses will see increased trade during the evening and there will be less disruption for residents. This event will have nearly a thousand athletes with probably another four thousand spectators. The positive from this will see Saundersfoot school getting a significant sum of fundraising and there has been an agreement reached with Activity Wales to fund a Radar speed sign for the village. The Sports Club will also benefit by turning the sports field into a car park for the night if they so wish to bring in extra revenue, as the field will be free on that evening. Regarding the Saundersfoot Tri, I need to get across that this is very popular amongst local residents with both young and old getting involved. This is an ‘entry tri’ and many will go on to compete in bigger events such as the Iron Man.
There are still discussions with LCW that will be held at county level with all councillors that are affected by this event. Activity Wales have put in changes to the event and times that will affect residents and businesses in Saundersfoot. This will be discussed along with every other village and town to see how this event can be run with limited disruption. The three councillors Jordan, Cormack and I are pleased with the changes locally and this will be discussed further.
There has been a plan in conjunction with Welsh Government to have safe access through a travel link. This started with the pavements connecting the top of the Glen with Broadfield Hill and then Saundersfoot railway station with the top of Pentlepoir. During discussions recently funding has been applied for to connect Francis Road and Coppet Hall as well as Saundersfoot Railway Station to the top of the Ridgeway. We will also look at how we can improve the link between Sandyhill Road and the junction outside Sandyhill Nurseries so there is a safe place to walk. I will speak with Highways and NP to see how we can improve the link.
All the hard work done on the village sports field by many volunteers has resulted in me applying for 70 trees to mark the Queens jubilee back in June. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve been successful and National Parks will be coming to Saundersfoot on 7th March. There will be a mixture of Aspen, hedging plants and small Oaks. If anyone is available to help then please let me know.
In my role on the National Park Authority, I’m part of a group of members looking at a parking strategy for parking charges 2024/2025, as there hasn’t been an increase for over five years. This will look at National Parks car parks across Pembrokeshire.
The Saundersfoot New Year’s Day Swim was, once again, a fantastic spectacle. The event shows Saundersfoot at its very best with everyone working together. The Health & Safety group deemed it the ‘smoothest’ swim so far. I would like to thank personally the dedicated volunteers/stewards, and sponsors who make this event possible. We are a very small committee and rely heavily on volunteers. In simple terms without them there is no swim. Sincere thanks to all Councillors who participated in various ways.
I have sent an email to Saundersfoot Connect to inform that there will be a Temporary Prohibition of Pedestrian traffic. Public right of way SP42/38- The Strand Tunnel, Saundersfoot from its junction at the end of the Strand, north to a point near the sewage pumping station Coppet Hall car park. This will be from Monday 16th January 2023 for 5 days. It’s important that I send regular PCC postings to be displayed for public viewing through this site.
Finally, I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Kind Regards
Cllr Chris Williams
Saundersfoot South
07979 197936