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Topic Groups, Marine Industry, Business and Commerce

The people of Pembrokeshire have depended heavily on the sea for trade and commerce. Because of this, much of the industrial activity of the county has centred on coastal areas convenient to trading routes.

Pembrokeshire is in a prime location for trading. It has roads that are part of the EU's Trans-European Road Network (A40 and the A477), key ports of Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard, two ferry terminals at Pembroke Dock and Fishguard, an airport facility at Withybush, and a rail network.

But the Pembrokeshire economy is fragile, dependent on a narrow economic base of tourism, agriculture, fishing and public sector services. This fragility is exacerbated by the county's perceived peripherality, leakage of its economic and human resources to other areas, and a dependency on fluctuating tourism/holiday markets.

A few of the issues identified through topic group meetings on this subject were:

• Poor public transport provision in the county limits the mobility of work forces.
• Run-off from urban and industrial sites can cause pollution and increase flooding risk.
• Lack of awareness of true facts about marine industry and commerce by the general public creates a climate of mistrust, doubt and fear which is unhelpful.

This Topic Group was chaired by Andrew Brown of the Milford Docks Company. To download a full report in PDF format, including all the issues identified at the meetings, click here . If you would like the document in Welsh, please contact Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum on 01646 696174.

PLEASE NOTE THESE PAPERS WILL NEED REGULAR UPDATING TO REFLECT CHANGES TAKING PLACE AND THE EMERGENCE OF NEW INFORMATION SO ANY FEEDBACK ON THEIR CONTENT IS WELCOMED.