West Wales Review of the Year: October to December

As we reach the end of another year, we take a look back at the headlines that have shaped the past 12 months, finishing with the last three months of 2023.

October

In Llanelli, campaigners claimed victory as the Home Office pulled plans to house asylum seekers at the town's Stradey Park Hotel.  

The proposals, which were revealed ealier in the year, sparked major and long-running anger, including protests, counter-protests and huge police operations, with around 100 staff losing their jobs.

People living nearby were concerned about the building’s suitability for such a facility and last week the local fire service served a prohibition order on the building, deeming it unsuitable as accommodation in its current form.

Carmarthenshire Council confirmed this month, after months of wrangling, that it had been notified by the Home Office that it would not continue with the plan.

In a statement, council leader Darren Price and chief executive Wendy Walters say they had both written to Home Office ministers and senior civil servants “outlining their concerns with regards to escalating community tensions and urging the UK Government to withdraw from the site”.

The council said it would continue to work with Dyfed-Powys Police and the hotel owners to ensure that the site of the Stradey Park Hotel is managed appropriately “for the good of the community of Furnace and Llanelli”.

Cllr Price said: “I very much welcome the decision of the Home Office to withdraw its plans for the Stradey Park Hotel – it’s the right decision for the hotel and, more importantly, it’s the right decision for the people of Furnace.

“Now is the time for the community of Llanelli to come together to heal from the experience of the past few months. On the issue of providing sanctuary to people in desperate need, I will reiterate Carmarthenshire County Council’s desire to continue to welcome our share of asylum seekers from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria to our county via the dispersal model, which has worked successfully in Carmarthenshire for many years.”

The Home Office wanted to turn the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli into a 200-plus bed facility for people claiming asylum. There have been several tense stand-offs between security staff guarding the complex and protesters.

Asylum seekers had been set to arrive at the former spa hotel in the middle of summer but July, August and September all came and went with no arrivals, despite the Home Office saying months ago that people would start arriving “within weeks”.

As 2024 approaches questions remain over the long-term plans for hotel and whether it will be reopened as a hotel by its owners, as they had indicated.

Members of the Furnace Action Committee said they would remain vigilant to make sure the hotel is returned to its proper use as quickly as possible.

“Plainly, this is a major victory for the people of Furnace and the people of Llanelli,” said spokesman Robert Lloyd. “But, as with all these things, the devil is in the detail. We are not lowering our guard – just yet.

“We will want to see how the hotel owners Gryphon Leisure Limited and their parent company Sterling Woodrow react to this move.

“Will they now accept an olive branch from the local community, realise they made a massive mistake in proposing the plan and return the hotel to its four-star glory?

“If they accept their errors and show a sincere commitment to moving forward to rejuvenate a hotel which now bears several scars, then the local community may be able to take their apology and help in rebuilding the hotel and the business.

“We would also like to see a firm commitment from Carmarthenshire Council to ring-fence the Stradey Park Hotel as a major tourism asset for Llanelli and Carmarthenshire by putting some safeguards in the Local Development Plan to make sure there is no danger of this ever happening again.”

Carmarthenshire Council admitted this month that updating all its signs on streets and roads that have seen their legal speed limit cut from 30mph to 20mph would not happen imminently.

The speed limit ruling came into force in mid September as Welsh Government implemented its vision for restricted roads across Wales to be set to the new default limit.

A protest took place outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay and more than 400,000 people have signed a petition asked for the legislation to be reversed.

Several signs across the region were vandalised as a result of the changes.

In Carmarthenshire, many raised concerns amid confusion over what the speed limit is on roads they are driving through.

According to one map, a large number of roads and streets have changed to a 20mph speed limit as of September 17 – however, many of those areas were still signposted with 30mph signs.

The council said that it will “take some time” when asked how long a change in signage across all affected roads is likely to take.

Thousands of people in West Wales would struggle to attend doctors’ appointments, go shopping or get to work when a rural bus service ended this month, worried councillors in Carmarthenshire said.

The Bwcabus service operates fixed routes and booked journeys in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and has grown since launching in Ceredigion in 2009.

But the service ended on October 31, with the Welsh Government saying it could not continue its financial support for the service because the UK Government had not replaced rural transport funding formerly provided by the European Union.

Councillors from across the chamber at County Hall in Carmarthen urged a rethink during a Bwcabus motion at a meeting of full council, saying residents would be left isolated.

November

The month started with fears that a road north of Carmarthen linking the villages of Cynwyl Elfed and Trevaughan could be closed for up to a year after part of it fell away during a landslide caused by bad weather.

Henfwlch Road, between Trevaughan and Bwlchnewydd, was closed on October 31, after large chunks of the highway on one side totally fell away into a steep bank and damaged fencing in the process.

Highway teams from Carmarthenshire Council closed off a section of the road with large metal fencing, barriers and bollards.

The county council initially said it could be between six months and a year before it would reopen, and the public were urged to keep away from the area for safety reasons. However, the road reopened just before Christmas, with more works planned in the new year.

A new campaign was launched in an effort to make Carmarthen Castle more attractive to visitors.

People were asked for their opinions on how to improve the castle.

The castle, on the edge of Nott Square, was once one of the largest in Wales and has seen some of the most significant episodes in Welsh history, but for tourists and locals, it may not be the focal point it could be.

Carmarthenshire Council launched a public consultation over what people want to see happen to the castle to raise its profile and improve it as a tourist destination.

The survey states that “there is a need to better tell the story of the castle’s history and heritage, so that visitors can learn about the site’s importance within Welsh life”.

Exciting new plans were revealed which will see two empty units in a Llanelli shopping centre transformed into a large late-night food court.

St Elli Shopping Centre in the heart of the town has, like many high street areas, seen shops close in recent years, especially during and after the various lockdowns that were brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two of the units that shut up shop were taken up by retail giants Sports Direct and Argos.

But now, it is hoped that new life can be breathed into the units, and the shopping centre in general, with plans to open a food court across the space left vacant.

No opening date for the food court has yet been announced.

Plans to give police more powers to tackle antisocial behaviour in Llanelli, including a requirement to hand over drug-taking equipment, received widespread backing.

Carmarthenshire Council announced it was looking to introduce a three-year “public spaces protection order” to replace the existing one which expired at the end of September.

These orders enable councils to clamp down on behaviour in a defined area which is having a detrimental impact on the community’s quality of life.

The new order includes North Dock and covers a larger area than the previous one.

The council’s place, sustainability and climate change scrutiny committee unanimously supported the proposal.

Cllr Karen Davies, who chaired the meeting, said: “I know how desperately it is needed within the Llanelli area.”

The order was approved by the council the following month.

December

As the year drew to a close, Carmarthenshire Council announced it was selling its vast Parc Dewi Sant complex on the outskirts of Carmarthen.

Cabinet members accepted an offer for the 38-acre site, which has 22 buildings and was once a mental health asylum, after going into closed session at a meeting.

A sales brochure from August this year said offers of more than £2.5m were being invited.

The sale will eliminate maintenance costs of £200,000 per year from the council’s books.

A small number of council staff will remain at Parc Dewi Sant in the short term; the remainder will move to other offices.

Subject to contract, the sale will be on a long leasehold basis, and enable the council to have an input over any future use of the buildings for at least 25 years.

Other organisations which have a presence at Parc Dewi Sant will retain their tenancy rights.

The sales brochure said opportunities included potential residential use, plus new-builds.

A grieving family paid a touching tribute to a young man three years after he was tragically killed by a drink-driver.

Lewis Morgan died on December 4, 2020, when he was the passenger in a car that crashed into a wall in Carmarthenshire.

The driver of the car, Meirion Roberts from Ammanford, had drank several pints of cider that evening and then drove to Mr Morgan’s house before drinking more.

He stopped at a shop to buy more alcohol before continuing to drive at speeds of up to 100mph. He even drank from a bottle of beer while he was behind the wheel of his car.

Roberts, aged 26 at the time, was taken to hospital. Lewis, however, died at the scene. He was just 20 years old.

Roberts was later arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, which he denied. However he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

On the third anniversary of Lewis’ death his family has added something to his gravestone in Carmarthen Cemetery which will allow others to learn more about him, about the lives he touched, and about the person he was before his life was tragically cut short.

A QR code has been placed on the gravestone which, when scanned on a smartphone, takes users to a dedicated online tribute page.

His father Martin said: “I haven’t seen anything like it before – certainly not locally and not in the cemetery where Lewis was laid to rest.

"People can read about Lewis, see pictures of him, and leave messages as well. I think it’s brilliant.”

Mr Morgan said he cannot believe that three years have passed since the worst day of his life. They say time is a great healer, and that life must go on, but for him and his family this time of year will always be the hardest time.

Kind-hearted members of the community in Llanelli were backing the town council’s Just Feed The People campaign to help those forced to use food banks, bringing Christmas cheer to those on the breadline.

Food banks throughout the town have reported a rise in donations since a public appeal was made for more help last month.

The surge in support came after town  councillors discovered donations had dipped as townsfolk felt the impact  of the cost-of-living crisis.

The council’s ruling Labour group then launched a major appeal to help.

Town mayor Nick Pearce has been touring Llanelli’s foodbanks, handing out donations and fact-finding.

“There are a range of circumstances  that can lead to use of a food bank - from working families who just  can’t make ends meet through to pay day, to people struggling with  self-care, whether that be due to addiction problems or other mental  health issues.

“There are people in our community who are suffering from malnutrition simply due to poverty.

“I think it’s important to reflect on that,” he said.

A new GP service will be found for Cross Hands and Tumble surgeries.

Following the resignation of their general medical services contract by partners at the surgeries, a consultation was done to gather patient and stakeholder views on the future of GP services at the practice.

That resignation comes into force in March next year.

An extraordinary meeting of Hywel Dda University Health Board decided to start a ‘formal procurement exercise’ to find a new GP to deliver services across both surgeries in Cross Hands and Tumble from March.

The board also agreed that should the procurement exercise fail to find a suitable GP provider, then full consideration will be given to the other options, including the possibility of moving registered patients to neighbouring practices, or to take on the surgeries as a health board-managed practice.

Judith Hardisty, acting chair of Hywel Dda said: “We have listened to the patients of Cross Hands and Tumble surgeries and our local stakeholders, including neighbouring practices.

"A formal procurement exercise will now be undertaken to secure a new general medical services provider to deliver care for registered patients.

That concludes our review of news across the region in 2023, we wish all our readers a happy new year.