#Ports&Shipping - The south Wales Port of Milford Haven (related story) has submitted a revised master plan to Pembrokeshire County Council for its multi-million pound Milford Waterfront development.

The Port received a resolution to grant planning consent in 2015 and since then work has been ongoing to finalise the details for the five phases of development. A significant milestone has been achieved with regards to the location of the new access following approval from Welsh Government, enabling the listed building currently occupied by a vets practice to be retained.

The previous plans were centred largely around a retail development but as a result of market changes the development will now be leisure-led and the food retail store has been replaced with a large indoor leisure facility, offering an interactive digitally-led experience for all ages which will be open all year round.

A second upmarket hotel has been added in line with the desire to create a leisure and tourist destination and a high quality restaurant on stilts is envisaged for the north end of the marina, which can be accessed from the marina or from the quayside. The dry dock will no longer be in-filled, but instead used for private berthing alongside new residential accommodation overlooking the marina and Haven.

Opposite the entrance to Milford Waterfront the Quay Stores building will be redeveloped, bringing a listed building back into use. The link between the town’s train station and Havens Head Retail Park will also be landscaped to create a welcoming experience for visiting rail passengers and safe access to the marina.

Neil Jenkins, Development Director at the Port of Milford Haven, said “We have worked hard on fine-tuning the plans over the past couple of years to ensure they are in line with market trends and are confident that we’re now in a position to deliver a fantastic development in a unique waterfront setting which will provide huge economic benefits to the Pembrokeshire and Welsh economies.”

He added “Work has already started on site for a new Costa Coffee Drive-Thru at Milford Waterfront, a new visitor centre has been opened within the museum and later this year we’ll be launching a new holiday let overlooking the Haven as well as four Floatel Cabins in the marina with terraces overlooking the water. It’s an exciting time for the area and we look forward to receiving feedback from the local authority.”

The Milford Waterfront development is set to create over 700 jobs during the construction and operational phases and result in an additional £9 million in visitor spend.

The planning application can be viewed on Pembrokeshire County Council’s website at www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk

For more details about Milford Waterfront visit www.milfordwaterfront.co.uk