Latest news with #PembrokeshireCouncil
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Plans for semi-professional club in Wales to have VAR system installed
Plans for semi-professional club in Wales to have VAR system installed The Football Association of Wales has submitted a planning application to Pembrokeshire Council for the installation of a VAR video operations room at Haverfordwest County FC's home ground A match official checks a VAR screen (Image: Getty Images ) A proposal to install VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology at a Pembrokeshire football stadium used by a semi-professional team has been lodged with planners. The Football Association of Wales has submitted a planning application to Pembrokeshire Council for the installation of a VAR video operations room and related works at Bridge Meadow Stadium, the home of Haverfordwest County FC. An accompanying statement from agent Wardell Armstrong outlines: "The Football Association Wales has recognised opportunities to strengthen, improve and build the standard of football and the image associated with Wales's top football league." It further details the Cymru Premier Strategy 2024-2030, which includes plans to enhance the quality of club facilities, branding, and recognition in the Cymru Premier League, as well as bolstering the on-field product over the next six years. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . The statement adds: "The implementation of VAR as part of this plan will allow referees to perform at the highest possible level, providing quality decision-making to benefit players, fans and television audiences." The system, known as VAR, "comprises of a Video Assistant Referee who is a qualified official that watches video footage of the game with access to multiple screens, angles and replays with the purpose of assisting the on-field officials to come to the correct decision," it explains. Bridge Meadow in Haverfordwest (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service ) It adds: "VAR is used globally, currently assisting referees in associated football leagues of over 70 countries to minimise the risk of human error and to enable the referee to make the correct decision using video technology. "From the 2025/2026 season, VAR Light will be implemented in all Cymru Premier matches. VAR Light operates on the same principles as VAR – with a Video Assistant Referee but without a replay operator." It further elaborates: "Footage from VAR camera installations will be transmitted to a self-contained Video Operations Room, where the VAR will be located. The match referee will conduct any suggested on-field reviews in a designated Referee Review Area adjacent to the pitch, where a monitor will be installed on match days. "After reviewing the infrastructure at the Ogi Bridge Meadow Stadium, it has been determined that the existing buildings cannot accommodate the Video Operations Room, necessitating the provision of new additional accommodation." The application will be reviewed by county planners at a future date. Article continues below
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Wales Online
Path connecting two popular Welsh beaches finally set to reopen
Path connecting two popular Welsh beaches finally set to reopen The Tramway, which links Wisemans Bridge to Coppet Hall, has been closed for months after a series of landslips - the latest in January - and substantial investment has been made to reopen the route This section of path in Pembrokeshire is expected to reopen within weeks, having been shut since January (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service ) A section of a coastal path connecting two popular beaches in Pembrokeshire is set to reopen in just over a month. The pathway, which connects Wisemans Bridge with Coppet Hall near Saundersfoot, had previously been shut down following 'substantial rock falls' towards the end of 2023 and into early 2024, despite significant council investment to make the route accessible before the most recent landslides occurred. In January, another collapse took place on the cycleway from Wisemans Bridge to Coppet Hall, disrupting the connection between Wisemans Bridge and Coppet Hall beach. Pembrokeshire Council responded by issuing a temporary prohibition order to restrict access. The order read: "The Order is necessary to ensure the safety of the public from the eroding cliff face and follows two public notices previously issued under this same Act advising of this restriction." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . It further detailed: "The effect of the Order will be to temporarily prohibit all vehicular and non-vehicular traffic other than exempted vehicles from proceeding along the Public Right of Way SP42/P1/3 Coppet Hall to Wisemans Bridge – from Coppet Hall Point, northeast to its junction with the access road leading towards Hean Castle." The restrictions are set to be clearly signposted and are planned to commence on Thursday, February 27, with an anticipated duration of around four months. A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson stated that the pathway is due to reopen next month. "The end of June is the target to reopen the path between Coppet Hall and Wiseman's Bridge which has been closed due to a landslide." However, the council official also cautioned: "Every effort will be made to meet the re-opening target but given the complicated nature of the works this cannot be guaranteed." The closure notice has a six-month limit, serving as a backup plan in case of unforeseen delays or rescheduling of the works. Meanwhile, the upper path remains accessible to users. By March, the accumulated costs of repairs for multiple incidents had reached nearly £700,000. Article continues below This development comes after local councillor Chris Williams voiced his frustration last year with "selfish" path users who compromised others' safety by repeatedly breaching safety barriers and fencing during the repair works. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Pembrokeshire: Parents won't be asked why they chose Welsh
Parents will not be asked why they choose Welsh medium education for their children after a council responded to concerns from the Welsh language commissioner and opposition members of Pembrokeshire council voted to amend the controversial proposal, with the specific reference to the Welsh language being removed. Education officers will instead explore the demand for school places based on language provision, learning outcomes, transport, facilities and additional learning leader Paul Miller, who made the original proposal and the revised amendment accused the opposition leader Huw Murphy of "creating division in Pembrokeshire". He also claimed the Mr Murphy had tried to portray the administration as "anti-Welsh."The new proposal was passed unanimously by six cabinet members on virtual meeting was not attended by three cabinet members, including the councillor responsible for education, Guy Woodham, and Plaid Cymru's Rhys Sinnett. Fellow cabinet member, Jacob Williams, attacked the Welsh language commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones, claiming that she had "jumped the gun". He said she should be "embarrassed" about a letter to the council claiming the amendment could send "negative" messages to parents who were considering Welsh medium education for their also suggested she had not demonstrated that she was an "impartial authority."But a former head of the Welsh language board, Meirion Prys Jones, said it was "entirely appropriate" that the Welsh language commissioner had intervened in the row. "The role of the Welsh language commissioner is to look at local authorities, central government and decide whether they're actually implementing their own plans in terms of developing Welsh medium education," he said. "It would be strange really if the commissioner didn't comment and didn't write to the local authority saying, 'what are you doing here, this doesn't look to be in line with government policy'.Council leader Jon Harvey said the amended proposal was "not unreasonable" and that the authority wouldn't "do anything that wasn't legal"."This seems to have has been blown up to be a situation where we as a cabinet, are being perceived as anti Welsh or anti Welsh language, and that is certainly not the case," he said. "We have invested heavily in Welsh language provision. We are all very supportive of that. "All we are asking for is the director of education to explore whether we can get a little more data on the subject."
Wales Online
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Removal of street lights saves Welsh council £1.5m
Removal of street lights saves Welsh council £1.5m The changes to streetlight provision has seen their loss in some rural areas Alterations to street lighting in Pembrokeshire, resulting in the removal of some lights in rural locales, have reportedly led to savings of £1.5 million annually for the council. At the May session of Pembrokeshire Council, Councillor Michael John posed a question highlighting concerns: "The loss of streetlights in rural areas is an issue which causes great concern to any members of the public affected, and one which is raised with me regularly." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . He continued to express the shared worries among constituents: "I believe it is an issue that a number of other members have raised and continue to raise with the department also. Given the policy was introduced around 2006, nearly 20 years ago, does the Cabinet Member agree it would be a good time for it to be reviewed?". In reply, Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, Councillor Rhys Sinnett, recalled the initiation of these changes being spurred by a motion from a former county councillor in 2008. He explained that the necessity for lighting was determined based on criteria including night-time accidents, frequency of use by traffic and pedestrians, crime rates at night, and local residential populations. Article continues below The council meeting was informed that savings were derived from adopting more efficient LED lighting, data-driven approaches to where new lighting should be installed, and removing lighting that fell short of the established criteria, leading to an annual £1.5 million saving alongside reduced carbon emissions. Councillor Sinnett acknowledged the issues brought up since the implementation of the lighting changes and agreed they could be re-evaluated by an appropriate council scrutiny committee. Councillor Sinnett expressed his backing as one of the early proponents of the policy shift, acknowledging that while it hasn't been met with unanimous approval, the change "has had some quite positive effects in terms of budget savings and carbon reduction". He concluded: "I commend the administration of the time for having the courage to introduce that." Article continues below
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Pembrokeshire council cabinet not 'anti-Welsh' says deputy leader
A deputy leader in a council has denied the cabinet is "anti-Welsh" after saying some parents "couldn't give a toss" if their children go to a Welsh-language school in a town in south-west Miller, deputy leader of Pembrokeshire council, and the cabinet voted on 28 April to ask the Director of Education to find out the demand for Welsh-language schools - a move which seven councillors voted to send back for reconsideration. It comes as the Welsh government passed a major new bill to boost the number of pupils studying in Murphy, leader of the Independent group, said Mr Miller's comments had left him "frustrated and upset." Every year council cabinets discusses how it is going to expand Welsh-medium one of these meetings on 28 April, Pembrokeshire council's cabinet backed an amendment by Mr Miller to ask the Department of Education to find out whether parents are sending their children to schools because they teach in Welsh or if they like other aspects of the school such as teaching amendment was "called in" on Wednesday, after opposition councillors reacted angrily to Mr Miller's comments. During a fiery meeting, Mr Millar accused Mr Murphy of "making something out of nothing" and said he should be "deeply ashamed" of the call in request. "I don't accept for a second that we should do anything to discourage anyone from making the choice that they want to make, be that a Welsh-medium education or an English-medium education," Mr Millar told the BBC said that parity between the two languages was "absolute".Councillors voted to send the decision back to the cabinet, which can decide to either stick with the original amendment or change their the end of the meeting, Mr Murphy called on Jon Harvey, council leader, to appoint a Welsh speaker to the cabinet as there are currently no fluent Welsh speakers in the a letter to council leader Jon Harvey, seen by BBC Wales, Welsh language commissioner Efa Gruffydd Jones expressed said any subsequent action would likely go "against Welsh government policy" and potentially harm Pembrokeshire's WESP (Welsh in Education Strategic Plan) targets and "convey negative messages to parents who are considering Welsh-medium education for their children".She also questioned why the amendment focused on choices about Welsh language education and not parents who choose English language commissioner also said there is "duty on local authorities to encourage the demand for Welsh-medium education".She pointed to the establishment of Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest as a success and said: "It's clear there is a demand for Welsh-medium education in Pembrokeshire".Mr Millar said he considered her letter a "pretty extraordinary political intervention in a democratically elected body by the commissioner".He said the local authority had facilitated growth in the Welsh language "extremely successfully", and was committed to ensuring that parents in Pembrokeshire had the choice they "deserved"."But if you're saying we should be building Welsh-medium schools where there might be absolutely no demand for them what[so]ever, I would say that that's crackers, isn't it?," he said."Surely we should understand where there is demand for Welsh-medium education and where there isn't and we should work hard to invest to make sure we're meeting the demand in the places where it exists," he added. When challenged over the use of the phrase "couldn't give a toss" in the cabinet meeting, Mr Millar said he was "repeating the language that was used to me"."Uncomfortable or not, there was a group of mums in my constituency who said that to me," he said he had been accused by the group of not being interested in Ysgol Caer Elen being a Welsh-medium school, but only in the fact that it was a good school with good facilities and free transport."There is a need to understand who is choosing to access those schools for the medium - so because it's a Welsh-medium school - and who is choosing those schools because it is the only available alternative perhaps to the catchment school that is not performing in the way that it should be, or does not have the facilities that the parents feel it should," he said."I think this has been blown up out of all proportion," he said, adding that suggestions he was anti-Welsh "could not be further from the truth".
