Penally’s county councillor has provided an update on the sale of the village’s former military training camp.
It was revealed last month, that Penally Training Camp - controversially used to house asylum seekers during the Covid lockdowns - had been put up for sale by the UK Government.
The former military facility near Tenby, which opened in 1860, was used extensively throughout both World Wars, but was repurposed as temporary accommodation by the Home Office to hold asylum seekers from September 2020 until March 21 the following year, during the pandemic.
Eventually, the training camp returned to Military of Defence control, following a damning inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration, which highlighted the environment as being “rundown”, “impoverished” and “unsuitable for long-term accommodation”.
Penally Community Council learnt towards the end of last year, that both Penally Camp and firing range were to permanently close, sparking speculation as to who may purchase the site.
Last month, the camp appeared for sale on the UK Government property finder website, which states that the 5.8223-hectare site is classified as ‘other land’ and is for sale as ‘land only’ - meaning that that any changes to the site, including a ‘change of use’ will require planning permission from Pembrokeshire County Council.
An 85.9846-hectare rifle range located on the site are also included for sale, and any development on that land would require approval from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. 0.1740-hectare sewage works on the land are also up for sale.
County Councillor for the wards of Penally and Manorbier, Cllr Phil Kidney who previously commented that ideally, the land could be used for affordable housing, gave an update this week.
“The official news on Penally Camp is it is not for sale on the open market,” Cllr Kidney told the Observer
“The process with the MOD is it is first offered to any other departments within the MOD, and no interest has been shown, it is now being offered to any other Government departments, and if they show no interest, it will be put on the open market.
“So for now we are in a state of limbo,” he added.
In response to a query from a local resident who sought clarification, after receiving a response from the MOD to state: ‘The Penally Training Camp is not for public disposal as it is currently under consideration for use by other Government departments’ - MP for the area Simon Hart stated: “When they dispose of assets, they have to offer it to other government departments and bodies first. If there are no buyers then it goes to the open market. This possibly explains the position I hope.”