Their relative lack of statutory backing for Coastal Partnerships is often seen as a serious handicap but the major strength of this is the lack of constraints and the freedom to develop in all sorts of different ways. The Pembrokeshire Coastal Partnership has had success and received national recognition from two different awards.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum (PCF), an innovative Community Interest Company based in Pembroke Dock, is the winner for Wales’ Sustainable Social Enterprise category. Celebrating sustainability excellence, innovation and leadership across Wales, the Gwobrau Cynnal Cymru / Sustain Wales Awards took place in the Senedd this week. The 2016 Awards brought together over 120 business leaders, innovators, community pioneers, educators and their teams and provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the collective achievements. PCF has sustainable development of the coast at its core and manages and delivers marine related projects for the community, public, private and third sectors. Pioneering work includes the creation of a Marine Code and Outdoor Charter for Pembrokeshire, curriculum linked coastal education and most recently; the launch of Marine Energy Wales, leading the way for sustainable marine energy generation in Wales. Click here to read more.

PCF has also played a key part in the development of Marine Energy Pembrokeshire

Marine Energy Pembrokeshire (MEP) is a key industry collaborator and has assisted in bringing global attention to the marine energy sector potential within Wales.  Celebrating outstanding achievements in the tidal sector, the International Tidal Energy Summit Awards took place in London and saw MEP winning the title of Most Valued Consultant.

MEP is a leading organisation in the Welsh marine energy industry, with membership expanding to over 90 organisations, including worldwide technology developers, key stakeholders and supply chain companies. Since its inception in 2009, MEP has been increasingly recognised as a vehicle for national co-ordination and represents the sector on a number of levels, from community to Government Ministers. The Not for Profit Community Interest Company is driven by passion for the industry’s goals and its ability to drive economic growth and is embedded at a regional level, committed to working on sustainable collaborative projects which require community benefit.

MEP’s work is now being taken forward more formally on a pan Wales basis with the launch of Marine Energy Wales earlier this month in Brussels. With significant progress being made by Morlais on the tidal Demonstration Zone off Anglesey, Minesto on the Deep Green project and a number of wave energy projects being progressed in Pembrokeshire, MEW  will continue to play a critical role in collaborating on marine energy projects across Wales. Click here to read more.