Sir Benfro
Steel buildings in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire puts buildings on some of the most exposed ground in Wales. A farm near the coast or up towards the Preselis sees wind that a frame designed for a sheltered valley was never meant for, and that shows up in the steel, the fixings and the pads. The county is strong on dairy and grassland farming, so milking, feeding and slurry drive a lot of the work. A band of old coalfield crosses the middle of the county too — small, but real — so a site between Saundersfoot and St Brides Bay is worth checking on the mining map.
Buildings designed, supplied and erected by South West Steel Buildings across Pembrokeshire, including Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Narberth, Fishguard, Tenby and St Davids.
- Planning authority
- Council and Park
- Pembrokeshire County Council, or the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority inside the Park.
- Protected landscape
- Yes, in part
- Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
- On the coalfield
- In part
- Check the site on the mining map.
- Drainage approval
- The council
- Needed at 100 m² or more.
What to check first in Pembrokeshire
Start with exposure and with the Park boundary. A lot of Pembrokeshire's farmland near the coast is inside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and a building there goes to the Park authority, which will care about its colour and how it sits in the view. Tell the designer how exposed the site is — a clifftop field and a sheltered yard need different frames. Between Saundersfoot and St Brides Bay, check the mining map as well.
Planning in Pembrokeshire
Most of Pembrokeshire comes under Pembrokeshire County Council. The part inside Pembrokeshire Coast National Park — the coast and the Preseli Hills — comes under the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority instead, which is the planning authority there and looks closely at the siting and appearance of any new building.
The rules themselves are Welsh, not English — 465 m² on 5 hectares or more, a 28-day notice, no Class Q — and are set out in our planning guide for farm buildings in Wales.
Garden buildings. Pembrokeshire includes protected land — Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. There, a garage or workshop at a house more than 20 m from it is limited to 10 m² under permitted development, and nothing may go beside the house. See garages and workshops.
The ground, and the coal
Pembrokeshire: Part of it sits on the South Wales coalfield and part does not, so it is worth checking where a site falls on the mining authority’s map before anything is designed.
In the Mining Remediation Authority's Development High Risk Area, most planning applications need a Coal Mining Risk Assessment, and the pads may need a ground investigation first. The authority's guidance explains how to check a site.
The groundworks calculator works out the base for your own slope.
Drainage approval in Pembrokeshire
At 100 m² or more, drainage needs SuDS Approval Body approval first — for Pembrokeshire, Pembrokeshire County Council. Roofing an existing yard? See the £40/m² yard roofing grant.
Buildings we put up in Pembrokeshire
Questions about building in Pembrokeshire
Who decides planning for a farm building in Pembrokeshire?
Pembrokeshire County Council for most of Pembrokeshire; the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority for land inside Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which covers the coast and the Preseli Hills.
Is Pembrokeshire on the coalfield?
Part of it sits on the South Wales coalfield and part does not, so it is worth checking where a site falls on the mining authority’s map before anything is designed.
Who approves drainage for a new building in Pembrokeshire?
Pembrokeshire County Council, as the SuDS Approval Body for Pembrokeshire, for anything covering 100 square metres or more.
Do you build in Haverfordwest?
Yes. South West Steel Buildings design, supply and erect buildings across Pembrokeshire, including Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Narberth, Fishguard, Tenby and St Davids.
Tell us what you want to put up in Pembrokeshire
Rough span and length is enough. We reply the same day, wherever you are in Pembrokeshire.