A CALL will be made to the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council on what is happening to plans to redevelop a Milford Haven “eyesore” after the preferred contractor went bust.

The former Motor World site on Milford Haven’s Charles Street had been “a long-term eyesore” in one of the town’s main streets before a January 2020 approval to redevelop it as residential flats.

The area had been an eyesore for several years before demolition; former councillor Stephen Joseph saying at the time the flats scheme would fill “a great big ugly hole in the town centre that’s been there a long time now,” adding at the time: “The previous building was an eyesore.”

Back in 2021, site contractors WRW construction, which had a number of projects ongoing in Pembrokeshire, including building 33 affordable homes on the site of the former Johnston CP School, as well as work in Tiers Cross, was put into administration by its directors under what was described as, ‘significant financial stress’.

The Charles Street contract was valued at some £2.9m to WRW, one of Wales’ leading construction firms.

WRW had not started construction at the time of its collapse, with no scheme payments made by the council at that time.

Milford Haven Hakin County Councillor Mike Stoddart raised concerns about the Motor World site, along with Johnston and Tiers Cross, at the January 31 meeting of the council’s Governance and Audit Committee.

Potential total losses to the council to seek alternative contractors to the three sites, a loss of potential revenue, and security costs could amount to millions of pounds, the committee heard.

That committee heard no replacement contactor had been secured, to date, for the Milford Haven site.

Cllr Stoddart will now ask pre-submitted question at the March 2 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council.

Cllr Stoddart will ask: “Can the Leader [Cllr David Simpson] update members on the likely timeline for the development at the former Motorworld building in Charles Street, Milford Haven?”

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