Welsh Water says seaside village scheme must wait for sewage works upgrades

Bruce Sinclair – Local Democracy Reporter

A scheme for 76 homes in a seaside village shouldn’t be allowed to start until updates to the local wastewater treatment works are completed, Welsh Water has said.

Millbay Homes applied through agent Asbri Planning in April 2025 for permission to build 76 homes and associated works on land east of Marine Parade in Broad Haven, near Haverfordwest, in Pembrokeshire.

The scheme would include 10 one-bedroom homes, 20 two-bedroom homes, 32 three-bedroom homes, 10 four-bedroom homes and four five-bedroom homes. Millbay Homes has been discussing affordable housing with the authority, which favours a rate of about 34 per cent.

The applicants say the scheme will “lead to the creation of a high-quality and attractive place to live and will contribute to creating a distinct sense of place”.

The scheme was revised after talks with planners, falling from 77 homes to 76 to make room for an ‘informal open space’ “designed to meet the planners’ request and to offer a communal area where residents can enjoy outdoor activities and relaxation in a natural setting”.

The statement stresses: “The proposed residential housing scheme represents a carefully considered response to the village’s architectural heritage, challenging topography, and coastal environment.

“Through a thoughtful, collaborative design process, incorporating comments and feedback from the planning officers and public, the development will create a vibrant, sustainable community that offers diverse housing options, maximises sea views, and integrates seamlessly with its surroundings.”

But The Havens community council opposes the scheme, citing “the widely-acknowledged serious lack of sewage treatment capacity in The Havens community area”.

The council said: “Incidents of unacceptable sewage discharges into the sea off Broad Haven and Little Haven have multiplied in recent years, due to insufficient treatment capacity for existing development.”

County councillor Nick Neumann has also passed on a resident’s concerns about summer failures in the water-supply network, which “strongly suggests that the existing infrastructure is operating beyond its design capacity”.

Cllr Neumann added that the “reliability of the water supply in Broad Haven is a wider community concern that requires attention irrespective of any planning applications”.

Welsh Water has said its nearby Walton West Waste Water Treatment Works is currently failing to comply with full performance criteria, with “insufficient capacity to accommodate the development within the immediate public sewerage system without causing detriment to the existing services we provide to our customers, or in regard to the protection of the environment”.

Welsh Water wants a planning condition preventing the scheme’s buildings from being occupied before December 31 unless work at Walton West is completed sooner.

Park planners have yet to decide on the scheme.

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