Minutes of the General Meeting of the Penally Community Council held on December 9, via the medium of Zoom:

PCC’s Sinead Henehan gave a report to the Council on matters concerning Penally camp, including:

The protesters that are congregating outside Penally Camp are decreasing in number and frequency; All reports of littering are being addressed as soon as possible by Pembrokeshire County Council; With the completion of the fire break, there will be the arrival of further residents into the camp and Sinead was pleased to confirm that the current service users were now moving through the Asylum process; Comments within the media are considered to be negative but this does not reflect the relevant facts; Displaced People In Action are offering all Councillors and The Clerk, on line training sessions relating to the asylum process.

The question of a Legal Challenge being made against the County Council was raised – Sinead confirmed that she had no information about this matter. Also raised was the question relating to the pre-planning application process and that it has not yet started nor has any information been received from the Home Office appertaining to when the consultation period may commence. Sinead confirmed that Penally Community Council is a statutory consultee and will be part of the pre-application process, but is unsure when the Home Office will lodge this application.

Inspector Palin is now the dedicated Police Inspector for Penally. Inspector Palin will be a centre point of communication for matters appertaining to Penally Camp and Penally Village.

Chairman’s Report

I have a short report for this month as all the important issues will be covered in the meeting agenda.

I would confirm that the Village Christmas Tree was erected on November 28 and would acknowledge a number of apologies from Councillors who could not assist due to prior engagements or injury. However I would thank Melanie Priestley, Jules Rilstone and Tony and Tom Darcy for their invaluable assistance. I would further advise that the tree will be removed by Smart Gardens week commencing 4th January 2021and therefore I plan to remove the lights at 10:00 on Tuesday 5th. All help gratefully received.

I would like to congratulate the organisers and participants of the ‘Lighting Up the Lanes’. This is a very worthwhile and spectacular event and a tonic for the whole community.

I would like to wish all Penally Residents and Councillors a very happy and safe Christmas and look forward to a better 2021.

Matters Arising from the Minutes

Clr. P Bradbury requested the Clerk to contact Pembrokeshire County Council to arrange for the speeding survey to be carried out in Summer 2021.

Consideration of Correspondence Received

Clr. Neal advised the Council that an email had been received from Clr. Jon Preston advising of the passing away of Mr. Ben Blake of Pembrokeshire County Council – Mr Blake was a great assistance to Councillors when ascertaining the speed limits through the village. Cllrs agreed he would be greatly missed.

Planning Application(s) Received

A 20/0599/PA Myrtle House, Penally: Ancillary studio/residential accommodation in association with the existing main dwelling (amended plans) - The Clerk advised the Council that two letters have been received raising concerns.

Also Councillors noted that this is a retrospective planning application with the Council raising major concerns appertaining to the original application and there after the applicant not following the conditions, as set out by the Planning Authority.

Major concerns raised by Councillors include:

• “Back garden developments”, the precedence that these may set and the issues regarding the eventual use of these buildings.

• Planning applications which have no provision for parking of additional vehicles in this already vastly overcrowded village of Penally. Only by site visits of Planning Officers can the problems of car parking be appreciated.

• The incidence of retrospective planning applications in that approved drawings can be ignored in the knowledge that a retrospective application will almost routinely be approved thus making a mockery of the time and effort of the Community Council in reviewing the original application.

• The building has been moved (approx 1.7M) to the West thus closer to the road and by approximately the same distance to the South.

• The building has been turned through 90 degrees so that the balcony is now on the East elevation rather than the South elevation. This and the change to the roof design has presented a much larger and more intrusive frontage to the building when being viewed from the East, being the beach and coast line.

• The access door is now on the North elevation and not the South and the concrete steps have thus had to change direction also.

• The roof structure is now a mono pitch with the roof fall from East to West, and is now highly visible from the road as a large formless flat incline. The approved pitched roof design presented a view from the road of a pitch, of approximately a third of the area, with the remainder of the roof effectively being hidden from view.

• The Design Access Statement notes the important environmental credentials of the design. These include using sustainably managed resources and environmentally friendly construction being of timber posts and beams. In fact, the new construction uses 4 No. cantilevered steel beams to support the building.

Clr. D’Arcy proposed that Penally Community Council object to this retrospective planning application considering the above observations; Clr. Neal seconded the proposal with all Cllrs eligible to vote - in favour of such.

B 20/0468/PA 5, Kenystyle, Penally: Demolition of existing bungalow and construction of 2 dwellings - Following a discussion Clr. P Bradbury proposed that Penally Community Council support this planning application, as the design of the proposed building not only enhances the area, it makes good use of the plot; Clr. Neal seconded the proposal with all Cllrs in full agreement.

C 20/0650/PA The Old Vicarage, Penally: Proposed single storey one bedroom dwelling to be used as holiday accommodation - Councillors considerations to include:

Over use of the area with major over development; The loss of part of the amenity area that is used by residents living within the property complex; The roof garden - although a very inventive way of providing garden space, it is not within keeping of the surrounding area nor the adjacent historic building design; The car parking area provided is not adequate for the number of properties sharing this space with cars having to park on the road preventing the public service bus from passing and having to turn around and not travel through the village.

Clr. Williams-James proposed that Penally Community Council object to this planning application considering the above observations; Clr. Rilstone seconded the proposal withal Cllrs in full agreement.

County Councillor Jon Preston’s Report

Interim CEO - Mr. Richard Brown has now been appointed the interim CEO at PCC. This was following the departure of Mr. Ian Wesley last month. The position of a permanent CEO will be advertised in the new year.

Penally camp - Legal challenges have now been put to the Home Office resulting in several service users being removed from Penally camp. Reports regarding Penally camp and the Napier Barracks in Kent paint a bleak picture of the Immigration Services management of both sites. Later this evening I will be meeting with lawyers from the Public Law Project and MP Liz Savile Roberts who is the Shadow Spokesperson for Home Affairs to discuss the impact this decision continues to make on the small community of Penally. We will also receive updates on the Judicial review, other legal challenges and the most recent responses from the Home Office.

I am appalled at the way in which this situation is being managed but due to the legal proceedings I must refrain from commenting on any specific cases. In response to a request to meet with the residents of Penally, MP Simon Hart has stated in a social media post that he has been happy to talk to people from the start and that he has done so. He added that he is posting regular updates and sending direct mail.

However, Mr. Hart has stated that a virtual meeting may be ‘intimidating’ for some. After three months since the re-purposing of Penally camp, I do not consider it unreasonable to ask our MP to engage with the community. In the meantime, the most up to date information can be found at the PCC Penally Camp website.

Penally camp planning - In terms of where we are with the planning application, Penally camp covers an area of more than 1 hectare, therefore the application will be classed as a Major development. An application for Major development needs to be accompanied by a pre-application consultation (PAC) report for the application to be valid. The PAC exercise that the report covers involves consultation with statutory consultees (including the Community Council) and publicity of the proposal. The consultation and publicity period runs for 28 days. I expect the PAC exercise to take place before Christmas. Due to the timescales involved it is unlikely that the application would come before the planning committee until at least the meeting scheduled for March 9. The three caravans that were on site were removed on December 3.

Pembrokeshire affordable homes - There are currently 2271 applications for housing on the local register and 883 households in temporary accommodation in Pembrokeshire. An ambitious program of providing affordable housing in Pembrokeshire is currently underway. New homes are currently being constructed by Ateb Housing ‘Hafalnod’ which is to the rear of Knowling Mead has some properties ready for occupation. Pembrokeshire county councils’ program of building over the next six years will provide over 400 affordable homes across Pembrokeshire. This will include the Brynhir site which will comprise of 102 affordable homes 8 shared ownership and 34 open market houses.

The Penally Centre - I am delighted to report that the young people at Penally Learning Centre have won first prize in an art competition to promote unity and diversity. As part of the Hate Crime Awareness week the aspiring artists created a colourful flag which has secured £300 for the unit. It’s great to hear that the former Penally primary school continues to achieve excellence and at the same time conveying such a positive message. Well done to all involved!

Reports from Council Committees

Clr C Bradbury (On Behalf of the Grounds Committee) - Smart Gardens have undertaken the usual grass cutting and in addition have dug over the bed at the Kiln Park entrance to the village.

We have organised a further leaf collection to be undertaken by Smart Gardens in the near future. The fencing to both sides of the footpath running through the Playing Field (owned by Pembrokeshire County Council) is in very poor condition (possible health and safety consideration). This has been reported to the Clerk, who has in turn informed the appropriate department at County Council. The Council have advised that they will remove all the fencing but not replace it. The Community Council need to consider whether this is acceptable due to the health hazards associated with the Children’s Play Area and make the appropriate proposal.

The Clerk has also made the County Council aware of the spoil heap arising from the Gas Board works at the bottom right-hand area of the Playing Field. Council stated that they would take action accordingly.

The Clerk has advised that she has contact details of a possible handyman for the Village. Contact will be made shortly.

Following discussions regarding the potential removal of the fence around the play area and the associated health and safety implications this would have, Clr. Jon Preston agreed to liaise with Pembrokeshire County Council regarding this matter and to enquire if a replacement fence can be erected.

Cllrs also requested the Clerk to write to Pembrokeshire County Council and ascertain if the fence can be replaced and not just removed. Highlighting the health and safety aspects of the soft play area and the probability of dog fouling in the playing field which is used regularly by the children in the adjacent Youth Referral Unit.

To consider the budget and precept for 2021/22

Following perusal of all the draft figures, as set out by the Finance Committee, Clr. Neal proposed that Penally Community Council set the budget for 2021/2022 at £22,171.02 and request a precept of £14,026.02 from Pembrokeshire County Council; Cllr Rilstone seconded the proposal with all Cllrs in full agreement.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 13 at 6 pm via Zoom.