It’s “a long way off” but a long-term vision for the county is needed senior councillors agree despite concerns there should be more focus on “delivery.”

Cabinet members met for the first time this year on Monday (January 10) and signed of the development of ‘Pembrokeshire 2040’ and plans to create a vision for the county.

Cllr Tessa Hodgson said she would “rather have a relentless focus on delivery,” adding the amount of work involved with developing such plans, with others falling by the wayside in the past, was a burden on officers.

A report to cabinet states it will be “a long-term vision that facilitates corporate planning is an important component in managing the risks, uncertainties, challenges and opportunities that face the county, and the future generations that will live and work in Pembrokeshire".

Pembrokeshire Public Services Board discussed the plan last month, hearing that now was the time to face challenges caused by economic change, housing markets, social care, poverty, education, climate change and Covid-19.

Cllr Hodgson said that she’d rather “focus valuable officer time and resources on delivery.”

Cllrs Neil Prior and Paul Miller said there was a need to do both because “unless we know where we are going how do we put the mechanisms in place to get there.”

Following a series of workshops and discussions it is expected that a draft vision will be brought back to the board in the summer.

It might seem “airy-fairy” as it is so far in the future, added Cllr Miller, but it’s a “real vision with tenable, demonstrable steps to get there".

Cabinet voted to support “the commitment to develop a ‘2040 vision’ for Pembrokeshire, working with Public Service Board partners,” with one vote against from Cllr Hodgson.