THE deadline for consultation on the Fishguard town centre scheme has been extended by nearly a month, to allow more time for feedback, the County Echo can reveal.
The local authority confirmed this week that the consultation deadline to enable Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council and members of the public to comment on The Chimneys Link Road Phase 2 planning application had been extended from 29 August until 22 September.
The application is due before the planning committee on 3 October.
Welcoming the move to extend the deadline, Cllr Myles Pepper said: “Having waited for these plans for 20 years, it seemed like we were only being given 20 minutes in which to decide on them.
“It’s not possible for a full and proper consultation to take place in the month of August and Pembrokeshire County Council has recognised that.
“These plans will affect the town for the next 35 years and we simply have to get it right.”
The extension comes as a former county councillor claimed that the Bristol-based civil engineers tasked with re-developing Fishguard town centre had never previously heard of Lower Town or West Street.
Atkins, one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, has been employed by Pembrokeshire County Council to oversee the controversial revamp.
But Owen James, who until the May local elections was the local county councillor for Scleddau, said: “Atkins was brought in with a specific brief, which is traffic management.
“When I questioned Atkins, they had never heard of either Lower Town or West Street.”
Plans for the town centre were brought into sharp focus last week when Fishguard-born town centre regeneration specialist George Grace warned that a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity was in danger of being missed.
Mr Grace described the scheme for the new one-way road system and re-development of the old county school ground as “a failure to re-create the lost heart of Fishguard town centre – a place that people wish to walk around, shop, eat, meet and greet face-to-face”.
Now Mr James says he fears Fishguard could be left with a legacy of problems similar to Haverfordwest.
“What George Grace is reported as saying in last week’s paper is entirely accurate and it concerns me that the local authority has an illusion of control and grossly overestimates the probable performance of its plan,” Mr James said.
“The way the county council should work is to have a robust challenge from councillors to justify staff decision-making because without such a robust process staff just do as they please.
“The biggest conflict here is the ownership of a large site by the local authority and the potential capital receipt and their view to enhance the saleability over and above enhancing the town.
“Is this about traffic management? Is this about selling a site?
“How do they claim this is to enhance the town?
“Why are the senior staff on the council not able to consult their in-house town planning team?”
Mr James added: “This proposal should go in front of the relevant scrutiny committee so that it can be properly examined.”
A spokesperson for Atkins said: “As a leading design, engineering and project management consultancy, Pembrokeshire County Council selected Atkins to help deliver its regeneration scheme in Fishguard town centre.
“We’re working closely with the council to deliver the objectives it has set out for the scheme which we believe will make a positive difference for businesses and communities in Fishguard.”
Article originally appeared on County Echo
