Milford `short-changed again'

From the archive, first published Thursday 19th Jan 2006.

YET again, Milford Haven is being short-changed in terms of council investment, say local councillors.

Of the £27million for site-specific projects listed in the capital programme approved by the county council cabinet on Monday, only £228,000 is destined for Milford.

That compares with £9.5 million for Haverfordwest, £4.7 million for Tenby and £2.1 million for Pembroke Dock.

That follows the trend of recent years. Last year, Milford was earmarked for £544,000 site-specific capital spend - a tenth of that destined for Haverfordwest. The previous year, £1.5m was earmarked for Milford projects compared to £5.2m for Haverfordwest and £7m for Pembroke Dock.

The year before that, £600,000 was allocated for Milford projects, compared to £3.1m for Haverfordwest and £2.2m for Pembroke Dock Cllr Mike Stoddart said he will be bringing the matter up in council as soon as he gets the opportunity.

"There are plenty of things to spend money on in Milford, a by-pass for instance. They could sort out the situation where North Road meets Marble Hall Road. I find it amazing that year after year, we get these figures and Milford is virtually excluded from the capital spending programme."

Cllr Rhys Sinnett branded the continued level of spend for Milford "disgraceful."

"It's pretty outrageous to be honest, and there can only be three reasons for it" he said.

"One - they don't think there are any capital projects in Milford, which for the second largest town in Pembrokeshire is inconceivable.

"Two - projects have been identified but they are of lower priority than those in the programme, in which case I would have hoped the local members and town council would have been told of it, bearing in mind this was raised as an issue of importance last year.

"Three - we've been overlooked again, and I think we have.

"I'm told that because we have a high level of social housing in Milford, we get more money spent on that.

"But I'm not prepared to accept that. Housing maintenance is not a visible, site-specific capital project.

"I will be writing to the leader to ask for a more detailed breakdown of where capital money is being spent within this town and seeking cast iron guarantees there will be consultation with local councillors and the town council to identify and prioritise a range of projects for our town for next year so we're not given a similar slap in the face again.

"I think people in the town are starting to ask questions about where their money goes. We're told if we wait in line for a number of years we'll move further toward the top of the queue, but we've been waiting long enough and we don't seem to be getting anywhere."

MORE money is heading for Milford than the list of projects in the capital programme might suggest, says the council leader.

Responding to charges that the town was being short-changed, and not for the first time, Cllr John Davies said the council budget "is not about sharing out funds between different communities - it is about responding to different needs across Pembrokeshire."

He went on: "Many projects throughout Pembrokeshire are listed in the budget put forward to Cabinet last week. With some of these, the locations of the projects are specified but others, by their nature, are not. "However, it should be noted that a number of these projects represent significant investment for Milford Haven.

"For example, the £1.905 million budget for the Leisure Investment Programme Phase One schemes involves over £1million investment in the Meads Leisure Centre at Milford Haven.

"A proportionate share of the £6.423 million council housing stock budget will be spent in favour of Milford Haven to reflect the number of council houses located in the town.

"In addition, a significant part of the £4.4million Group Repair Capital Investment will also be spent in Milford Haven.

"Another factor to bear in mind is that in terms of economic development, Milford Haven is unique in Pembrokeshire in that it also benefits from inward investment by the Milford Haven Port Authority.

"The Authority funds some developments in Milford Haven which would otherwise be funded by Pembrokeshire County Council, such as upgrading buildings and investing in the Milford Docks area.

"The Port Authority is funded by Objective One or the public purse, so in this way Milford Haven is receiving investment although through a slightly different mechanism."

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