March has been a very busy month with lots going on. I can’t highlight everything but below is a summary of some of the work that has been done.
In March, Alec and I met with officers from Pembrokeshire County Council regarding the highway and roads around the village. We discussed the Strand with cars parked down one side due to the lack of parking available. Unfortunately, some of the residents haven’t been able to access their drives and concerns have been raised that at pinch points emergency service vehicles couldn’t access the lower end of the Strand. We also discussed the issues regarding pavements that could result in a pushchair or guide dog for example having to walk down the road, due to the fact that the pavement isn’t wide enough. This is due to rock fall and overgrowth. It was agreed that this would be looked at by a Pembrokeshire County Council engineer. We will also engage with all residents and report back to Pembrokeshire County Council with our findings. Subject to the conversations there could possibly be further restrictions next winter especially where the road is very narrow.
At a separate meeting I met the highway engineers regarding issues on Cambrian Terrace and around the village. I’m happy to report that two disabled bays will be constructed opposite the Arcade on Milford Street. Work will commence on April 17th and will take approximately ten days, this has taken ten months but we’re really happy the residents have been listened to. Another positive point is that the curb on Cambrian Street that is currently the old disabled access off Cambrian Terrace will be reinstated. This will then create another parking bay on Cambrian Terrace. There will be new road markings at the start of April to clearly show what’s available as it’s important that residents and shop users have the flexibility to park and shop locally for a limited time if they so wish on Cambrian Terrace. I’m waiting on a timescale for this work but hoping it will be completed when they are completing the works on Milford Street. I would also like to thank Saundersfoot Community Council for facilitating the works vehicles so that work can be carried out as quickly as possible. They will park behind the village Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) and access will be restricted to these vehicles only during this time period. I hope to engage with the owners of the caravan park behind the MUGA so that they are aware that this will be for a short period.
I can also confirm that there is more positive news regarding the potholes and the breakup of the road on the High Street. During May, the top of Milford Terrace leading onto the Ridgeway, Church Terrace and the High Street, will have part of the road stripped and a new surface will be laid past the bottom corner heading onto Cambrian Terrace. I have also been assured that the potholes at the top end of Church Terrace will also be attended to during this time. Regarding the other potholes around the village, unfortunately we are in a queue and they will be sorted as soon as possible.
Residents cannot fail to have noticed that a new council tax bill has dropped through the letterbox recently and that there is a 7.5% increase. On the 2nd of March all 60 members of PCC attended the most important meeting of the year, to set the budget. By law Pembrokeshire County Council must set a balanced budget with projected outgoings equal to income. The outgoings are the cost of the services provided plus the costs the Council incurs. The income is made up of the grant from Welsh Government plus tax raised from properties in Pembrokeshire. This results in a deficit of £18.9 million. The projected expenditure for 2023/24 is approximately £257 million, minus the projected income, and this gap is bridged by a combination of service cuts/efficiencies and a council tax rise. Each 1% rise in council tax raises about £700,000. The council tax collected pays for just over 20% of the total running costs of PCC. This now means that the average band D council tax bill has gone up by £1.80 per week.
Recently I have been invited to an events group within Pembrokeshire County Council with other local members to look at events across the county. This is a new group set up to look at the impact on the communities and make sure residents and businesses are on board and they are regularly updated with developments. I am sure you’re all aware of this year’s Iron Man schedule. Our responsibility will be to look at further dates that we can engage earlier to get the correct detail and scheduling. This side of the county is blessed with many events that do bring in visitors into our community. We need to ensure that these events add value to our local communities outside of the busy time periods in order to extend the season for everyone. Iron Man 2024 will take place on the 22nd September which is a fantastic result for the local communities and athletes who will get the full support that they deserve doing this amazing event which is held on our doorstep. Another positive of this group is that the popular Tenby 10k will be back this year during October, this is down to communication with Sam and Tenby Town Council. The Tenfoot Endurance charity swim is back this year on Saturday 8th of July, the two charities benefiting are MND (My Name’5 Doddie Foundation) & Guide Dogs for the Blind. This is a tough sea swim from Tenby to Saundersfoot – Coppet Hall, I would like to thank the harbour users in Tenby along with Saundersfoot Harbour and Hean Castle Estate for facilitating this challenge. The committee have worked incredibly hard to put this on and that wouldn’t have been possible without all the local businesses who have fully engaged in making sure this event will be a success. There are some spaces left and please watch out for the volunteer program which will be released in April.
The Saundersfoot Tri has now been confirmed for September 1st 2023 and this will take place on a Friday evening. The businesses I’ve spoken to are really keen to get behind this as this will extend their working day and hopefully bring in many thousands of people to support. It wouldn’t have been possible to run this on the Saturday before the Iron Man as in previous years due to the complexities of the Strand, the many holiday guests leaving and the cleaners coming in to clean holiday properties. I would like to thank Activity Wales for working with Alec, Rhys and I, on this change. Saundersfoot Tri is looking to close the Strand on that Friday evening for a few hours and create a lovely atmosphere with the finishing line in the heart of the village. There are many locals from the surrounding areas who take part in this event as this is an introduction into triathlons. I would like to thank Dickie at Saundersfoot Sports Club who will open up the field for car parking. The field can hold 400 cars and this will be a major factor to the success of this event. My last point regarding events is how great it will be for Saundersfoot to hold the Welsh Rowing Beach Sprints on May 13th & 14th 2023. Saundersfoot will also be hosting a home international on September 9th & 10th with England, Scotland and Ireland all competing. This is all due to the success of the recent World Rowing Championships and the amazing local volunteer scheme.
During March I had the pleasure of entertaining the Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire County Council, Mr William Bramble CBE, the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council Mr David Simpson and the CEO of Saundersfoot Harbour, Mr Michael Davies. We had a detailed look and discussion regarding the new facilities and visited the accommodation of the Old Coal office that has recently gone through major refurbishment. We also looked at the history of coal in Saundersfoot through their educational display boards in the Old Coal Office. We took time to walk around the Plaza and other facilities on site and were pleased to be told that hopefully everything will be operational in June this year.
During March I joined a few hardy volunteers to work with National Park Rangers to plant 70 trees at Saundersfoot Sports Club in remembrance of the late Queen’s Golden Jubilee. We also worked with Shrublands Caravan Park who share a boundary with the sports field. We planted over 120 Hawthorn bushes and cleared away considerable overgrowth that was a haven for rubbish. This area will look totally different when the hedge grows and will certainly give more privacy whilst also improving a scruffy overgrown area. I would like to thank all volunteers who assisted and the Royal Oak for providing coffees and delicious cake for all volunteers.
Furthermore, throughout March I went out with Team Littlefoot collecting rubbish thrown out by passing motorists. This time we met near New Hedges roundabout and walked back to the Farm shop on the Moreton Road. It was incredible the amount of rubbish we collected and bagged up on the side of the road. Unfortunately, due to the amount of rubbish we had already collected we were unable to head down towards the railway bridge at Moreton due to a lack of rubbish bags. This was disappointing as it seemed that a van had pulled up on the side of the road and thrown out 10 large pieces of metal into the hedgerow that wouldn’t have fitted into a car. We also found smaller carrier bags tied up and full of rubbish that we believe was thrown out of a car window. Overall, we collected 9 bags along with lots of other items that we piled up for collection. I would like to thank Nicky and the team at Pembrokeshire County Council who came out immediately to pick up the rubbish. I would also like to express a big thank you to all other groups and individuals who continually go out and pick up rubbish from the outskirts of the village. If there are areas of concern in the village, please let me know so we can arrange a clean-up.
Whilst discussing the topic of rubbish, I hope many would have noticed the new bins around the village with information attached. Alec and I have worked closely with the team at Pembrokeshire County Council regarding having new bins with smaller openings and information displayed to reduce the amount of fly tipping that takes place and stop unscrupulous individuals from abusing the system within our village. We are looking at removing the bin on the Strand as it continues to be abused by the flats opposite and holiday apartments on a daily basis. A double bin has been added at the end of the Strand which can be used by dog walkers and for general litter. I would like to thank Michael Davies of Saundersfoot Harbour for accommodating three new bins at the top of the slipway in the village. I’m also working closely and have a meeting arranged next week with licensing regarding trade waste agreements. We will be looking at a joint approach with letting agents and take-away outlets to ensure that they have the correct bags for collection and that their waste isn’t going into the public bins.
Once again the topic of dog fouling has been brought to my attention. There is a very small minority of people who unfortunately continue to fail to pick up after their own dog. The enforcement service at Pembrokeshire County Council is under severe pressure and we as a community need to work together to look after our lovely village of Saundersfoot. I would advise that the best action to take against these inconsiderate individuals is the targeted approach using evidence gained from local residents. I’m happy to chase this up so please pass on any information to myself and I will ensure it is passed on to the relevant Enforcement team to deal with.
The issue of cockle pickers has been brought to my attention again by a few concerned residents. I have spoken to the fisheries department and during this week we have looked at putting out two signs at Glen Beach. The information stated below is the information that will be displayed for those not familiar to the byelaws:
“ No commercial gathering of any Shellfish permitted on this beach. No gathering of Cockle permitted during hours of darkness. For guidance in relation to the taking of shellfish, please refer to the Welsh Government website at www.gov.wales/sea-fisheries”
I hope that this will clear up any misunderstanding of the current situation.
I am sure most of you will all be too familiar with the challenges our local hospitals are facing on a daily basis. There is a proposal of having a new hospital that will be better equipped to deal with the demands of an ageing population in Pembrokeshire. I visited the Regency Hall two weeks ago and listened to a presentation given and regarding the new possible site of a more central hospital that would cater for West Wales. I also had a meeting via Zoom with fellow County Councillors discussing the proposed hospital. We discussed the pros and cons and various questions regarding concerns were raised by all County Councillors. This consultation sets out three potential sites for a new Urgent and Planned care Hospital in the south of the Hywel Dda University Health Board. Two of which were near Whitland and one near St Clears. There isn’t a preferred site and land hasn’t been bought so this is all dependent on Welsh Government funding. There are challenges with the current Hospitals in Withybush and Glangwili whose buildings are old and need a lot of maintenance to keep them working safely. Their condition doesn’t support the delivery of modern healthcare which can result in a poorer patient and staff experience. A new purpose built hospital will allow them to meet modern healthcare and improve standards all round. A new hospital in the boundary of Hywel Dda could offer new services, also looking at exploring options for some specialist services such as radiotherapy, neurology services and cardiac catheterization services. I would encourage all of you to visit the website https://hduhb.nhs.wales/new-hospital-site or telephone 0300 303 8322 for more information and express your views to the Consultation.
Last month I talked about a grant which I applied for through National Park via visit Wales. This was successful and the money has been transferred into the funds of Saundersfoot Community Council. This money will help enforce safety while entering and exiting the village play park. The grant was in excess of ten thousand pounds and this will ensure a safer environment. Saundersfoot Community Council is going through the process of linking up some additional works to be in conjunction with the new safety barriers and are still waiting on three quotes. This will hopefully take place next month so a date for the scheduled works can begin.
I have approached Pembrokeshire County Council regarding the walk through from Bevelin Hall onto Sandy Hill Road. There has been a lot of rain lately and it appears that this path has been washed away onto the bottom road. I’m waiting for a report back on how they can repair the walkway and when this could take place.
Alec and I had a meeting with Dr Allan and the practice Manager, Mrs Linton recently regarding concerns raised by residents wanting appointments and the wait on the new telephone system. I do take on board the problems that’s raised but believe that the surgery is under an awful amount of pressure. Not only do they have to see the patients at the surgery, they also have to comply with house calls from housebound patients. In February alone there were 246 house calls and this doesn’t take into consideration the 172 patients in care/residential homes that sometimes escalates to multiple patients during a visit. I know from talking to other members around the county that there is a dedicated team in Saundersfoot and as a community we have one of the best surgeries in the county. I also know things could be better and they are working on the telephone system to make it easier for residents calling in. What is disappointing is the surgery are still getting ‘no shows’ after appointments are being made. In February alone there were over 200 missed appointments which could have gone to patients needing medical attention. The information that follows is advice which has been highlighted to us from the Medical Team at Saundersfoot Medical Centre.
“Encourage residents to only ring at 8am if they need an appointment the same day. There is only a finite number of appointments, so where patients can, please use 111, the local pharmacy and Tenby walk-in centre.vvReceptionists are signposting patients in order to get them to the most appropriate person to deal with their persisting complaint. This isn’t always a GP.
Working on the balance between same day and pre booked appointments. The surgery think it would be worth getting some feedback from residents as to whether they would prefer more pre booked appointments rather than the same day. If that is the case then they would need to understand that once the appointments had all been taken for that day, they would then need to use the 111 service”.
The Medical Centre hopes to offer “eConsult” which is a service that will allow people to contact their own NHS GP practice online for free. This will be accessible anywhere at any time as long as you have access to the internet. This is hoped to be in place during May 2023.
I received an email from Taf Valley Coaches informing me of the situation regarding local bus services in Saundersfoot and surrounding areas. Taf Valley have now formally informed Pembrokeshire County Council that with regret that they will have to terminate the contracts on the following services. 351 Tenby to Pendine, 352 Tenby to Kilgetty. The last operating day for both services will be 30th April 2023. I know another local County Councillor has picked this up so will try to work with him on this and report back with developments. These services are very important to local residents as this gives them the independence to get out and engage with their friends and family or simply going out to do their shopping.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone associated with New Hedges / Saundersfoot football club. It is fantastic to see football back in the village along with a general buzz especially at home games and back in the club. This has been a team effort, from the sponsors, committee, players, coaches and the past players who have all been so supportive. For the club to have gained promotion in its first year has to be applauded. The club can now look forward to pushing on and hopefully start to build a junior system to support senior football in years to come. Hopefully, with the awarded grant of £29,000 for the changing rooms and investment into the facilities, the club can look forward with optimism. I’m sure work will be underway for next season and that the club will support both boys and girls’ junior sides.
Kind Regards
Cllr Chris Williams BEM
Saundersfoot South
07979 197936
