§ 31. Mr. Donnellyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps his Department took to ensure that local authorities in Pembrokeshire were aware of the urgency of the supply of water to the proposed oil refinery at Pwllcrochan.
§ Sir K. JosephAs soon as the need for water for the refinery became known in December, 1961, the responsible local authorities instructed consulting engineers to prepare a water supply scheme forthwith and this work was immediately put in hand.
To ensure that the whole situation was thoroughly studied my Welsh Office convened a meeting of all Water Authorities in Pembrokeshire and pressed upon them the need for urgent and concerted action to ensure that water would be available for the refinery in the quantity and at the time required both in the short and in the long term. This meeting was held on 25th January, 1962, and it recommended the appointment of a working party of three eminent consulting engineers to advise the authorities on water supply needs in the county. The Working Party reported in August, 1962. 19W The short-term needs were already being dealt with by the authorities directly concerned. The long-term recommendations are now under consideration by the Pembrokeshire Water Board which took over on 1st October, 1962, responsibility for water supplies in the county.