Pembrokeshire’s Costly Faith: Repeated Council Bail‑outs of Holiday Parks with No Return

Pembrokeshire County Council has earned a reputation for optimistic tourism investments. Time after time, it has poured public funds into holiday parks and tourist sites—only to watch them flounder or fail, leaving residents and taxpayers unknowingly underwriting losses. The council's involvement with the Bluestone resort and Celtic Haven now serve as stark illustrations of this worrying pattern.

The Council’s Investment in Bluestone

In 2006, the Council issued two loans to what was then Bluestone Leisure Ltd: approximately £803,000 for a roundabout and £1 million for the indoor “Waterworld” facility, both carrying 6.25% interest. By 2009, those loans—totaling around £1.9 million—were converted into council equity representing roughly 3% of Bluestone Resorts Ltd.

However, the shares proved almost worthless. Figures disclosed by the Cabinet Member for Finance in 2023 put their value “at best under £70,000,” yielding only £19,000 in dividends over five years, with a peak annual pay-out of £5,250 in 2019–20. Effectively, the council wrote off around £1.8 million—losing 95% of its investment. At the current dividend rate, full recovery would take approximately 340 years.

The Council’s Exposure to Celtic Haven

More recently, Celtic Haven (operated under the Celtic Holiday Parks brand), a family-run group of three luxury holiday parks, entered administration on 27 May 2025. Over the years, more than £6 million has been invested across its three sites. In 2020, the business secured a six‑figure loan from HSBC via the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to fund 54 additional holiday homes.

Despite these substantial investments and awards recognising the parks’ excellence, the firm has now called in administrators to find a buyer. The council’s financial exposure to Celtic Haven remains unclear, but the £6 million capital injection underscores public money at risk in ventures that have not delivered long-term stability.

A Pattern of Risk Without Reward

These are not anomalies but part of a worrying trend. Whether it’s Bluestone or Celtic Haven, the council has repeatedly backed struggling tourism sites with significant public finances. Instead of fostering sustainable tourism growth, many of these ventures collapse or limp along, delivering minimal returns on public investment. The issues here are clear: insufficient due diligence, financial opacity, and a tendency to make high-stakes decisions behind closed doors.

Where Did the Money Go?

Supporters contend that Section 106 funding—roughly £320,000—was allocated to public amenities like footpaths, bridges, and rights-of-way. But this pales in comparison to the £1.8 million written off at Bluestone and the unknown levels tied up in Celtic Haven's downfall.

When Bluestone’s loans were swapped for equity, public access to the Blue Lagoon was withdrawn—a loss to local communities now doubled by financial waste. Now, Celtic Haven’s parks—equipped with pools, gyms, restaurants, luxury lodges, and hundreds of new homes—have entered administration despite a £6 million investment and government-backed loans.

Lack of Transparency and Accountability

Council meetings rarely offer in-depth reviews of these failures. Decisions like the behind‑closed‑doors loan conversion for Bluestone in 2009 remain shrouded in secrecy. With Celtic Haven, the full scale of public exposure and due diligence remains unknown. This lack of accountability undermines public trust and leaves open the risk of repeating costly mistakes.

A Call for Reform

Pembrokeshire’s natural appeal certainly justifies investment, but fiscal caution must come first. The council urgently needs to adopt:

• Transparent and independent due diligence before any investment

• Full public scrutiny of assumptions, costs, and projected returns

• Rigorous, ongoing post-investment reviews to track outcomes and learn from failure

• Community oversight to ensure that projects genuinely benefit local residents

Bluestone and Celtic Haven demonstrate a troubling cycle: well-intentioned optimism morphing into financial quagmires when oversight fails. It’s not just about recouping money—it’s about restoring trust, practicing prudent governance, and respecting taxpayer funds. As long as public money feeds high‑risk tourism ventures without transparency or accountability, each new investment risks becoming another public liability.

Taxpayers deserve not glossy aspirations, but credible evidence that their money is being managed responsibly—not gambled on unproven dreams.