Haverfordwest: Anger at £12m skeleton-find development cost

Hundreds of remains and artefacts were unearthed last year

There has been anger after the budget for a department store renovation doubled to £12m due to rising costs and the discovery of hundreds of skeletons.

The cost of Haverfordwest's Western Quayside project, where the remains of more than 240 people were found, has leapt from £6.098m to £12.34m.

Pembrokeshire council deputy leader Paul Miller said digging up the skeletons accounted for £1.5m-£2m.

One businessman in the town described it as "poor planning."

The remains were unearthed by archaeologists working on the remnants of a medieval priory found beneath the old Ocky White building.

Archaeologists believe the ruins are from St Saviour's Priory, founded by a Dominican order of monks in about 1256.

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Mr Miller said he had "no regrets" about committing to the development.

"If you asked me would I spend £1.5m-£2m on archaeological work in Haverfordwest town centre, the answer would be no," he said.

"That said, these discoveries are an important part of Haverfordwest's history and I know that people with an interest in that sort of thing have been really fascinated about what's discovered."

The team found 17 skeletons at the Friary excavation site

Mr Miller said other factors for the ballooning budget were rising building costs, high inflation and builders being unable to access parts of the site, as well as "Covid, Ukraine, Brexit".

But people in the town were unsure about the cost.

Rhianon Howell said: "I do understand why it's increased - cost of living and I'm sure importing lots of materials, it costs a lot more now... but it does make me quite cross that it's costing so much."

Margaret Andrews added: "I think the general opinion of the people of Haverfordwest is that the money could have been spent developing Bridge Street, with various numbers of small shops which would have been more in character with the town."

Chris Jenkins, who runs the Friars pub, said: "I think it's poor planning in the first place. Everyone has got to build inflation into costs haven't they, so whether it was realistic to price it at £6m, who knows?"

The overspend came to light after opposition councillor Andrew Edwards asked for an update during a meeting in March.

Medieval tiles found at the site are thought to have been imported from France

He described the £12m budget as "astonishing".

"These things could've been foreseen and for a project to go double over the budget, when do we stop saying no to projects which are overspent?"

Ocky White was a popular store for more than a century before its riverside premises closed in 2013. It is being redeveloped to house restaurants, bars and will have a rooftop terrace.