End in sight for Castle Pill saga

11:05am Tuesday 8th July 2008

The saga of the land at Castle Pill, Milford Haven, could finally be reaching a conclusion, as developers again put forward plans to create a 72 dwelling, 200 berth marina development on the site.

An application to extend the project's deadline is being put before Pembrokeshire County Council today (Tuesday).

Council planners recommend that the application be approved.

The same development - which will offer homes, boat moorings, bars, restaurants, shops, a chandlery and a water sports centre over a 16 hectare area - was originally granted outline permission in 2001.

Since then two extensions to the time period "for the submission of reserved matters and commencement of development" have been approved by the local authority in 2004 and 2006.

After 2006 the ownership of the land was signed over to Brighton-based developers, Allied Land Milford Haven Ltd.

A spokesman for the company said that their plans were now reaching an advanced stage and that, if it does go ahead, the development will offer a boost to the local economy.

He said that the construction industry in Pembrokeshire would benefit from the project and that there would be roughly 20-30 permanent jobs created by the marina and the new businesses around it.

He added that the "greater benefit" would be to the tourist industry in the haven area.

A council planning report on the application points out that the original plans predate the designation of Castle Pill in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and the adjoining Haven as a Special Area for Conservation.

It also says that the original outline permission was granted before the Joint Unitary Development Plan was instituted, but concludes that "none of the changes in policy affect the acceptability of the principle of the proposed development and as such it is considered to be appropriate to allow variation of the conditions as proposed."