With the number of planning applications rising year on year, outside consultants are being brought in by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority to help speed up the processing of applications. Following a series of interviews with West Wales firms, the authority has awarded a 12-month contract to the Llanelli-based firm of Owen Banks. The principals, Stuart Owen and Richard Banks, are very familiar with planning matters, having previously worked in the planning department of Carmarthenshire County Council before going into private practice. Ifor Jones, Head of Conservation for the National Park Authority, said: "The development management team has commissioned outside consultants to handle a proportion of the planning applications received by ourselves. "Although a number of applications will be dealt with by Owen Banks, the work will be overseen and monitored by National Park staff. Final decisions will all be made by the development management committee or, in the case of applications that are delegated, by officers of the National Park Authority." The development management team has only just returned to full strength with the appointment of Ray Kirk as a principal planning officer. Ray, who previously worked for Pembrokeshire County Council and at the Park headquarters, joins his wife, Julie, who is a member of the development plans team. This is the first time in nearly nine months for the planning team to be fully staffed. Ray replaces David Green, who took up a post in Guernsey.
