Now work has finished tidying up the land around the Carriage Drive opposite Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, residents are already enjoying the difference.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the Carriage Drive was built, but it’s clearly featured on an admiralty chart from 1852.

Officers in horse-drawn carriages would have used the formal entrance known as The Avenue or Carriage Drive to access their residences inside the port walls, the Georgian buildings on the street now known as The Terrace in Pembroke Dock.

Reviving the Carriage Drive is a community collaboration. The process of restoration started in 2021 with a Port of Milford Haven consultation looking for community feedback to ‘collectively reimagine’ the space. The Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre acted as a community hub for the duration of the consultation by providing a PC accessible to the public and guidance on filling the surveys.

As a result, a total of 489 suggestions emerged from the community, with top priorities being interpretation, pollinator plants and seating.

Clearance work carried out by The Walters Group in December 2023 revealed the original borders of the drive, which had been reduced to a muddy footpath. This year, Roscoe Tree Services Ltd undertook the next phase in restoring and enhancing Carriage Drive for the community.

Permission from Pembrokeshire County Council was granted to allow enhancement to the trees and vegetation in the area protected under a Tree Preservation Order.

The works started after nesting season and included removal of invasive species, raising crowns of mature trees to increase light and the removal of competing trees, to improve the longevity of the site.

“A fantastic clearance of the scrub around Carriage Drive. It looks fabulous,” commented one resident - with many others in agreement, although one did suggest that the wildlife might be missing the ground cover.

This is a subject close to many people’s hearts, as ‘reviving biodiversity and wildlife habitats’ is a recurring theme shared by participants in the consultation, alongside improving the space for community activity.

While 11 percent of respondents opted for tidying the trees and undergrowth, and 13 percent wanted to see an open, grassy park space, 18 percent were for improved biodiversity habitats, plus eight per cent for planting more trees and 28 percent for flowers and pollinator plants.

At its naturalised peak, during the Covid lockdown, Jays were often to be seen at the site, and the distinctive sound of a woodpecker ‘drilling’ could sometimes be heard.

Squirrels are still much in evidence, but finding it harder to stay out of view in the trees after many of the lower branches have been removed.

Another recurring theme in the wishes expressed by the public is ‘better management of the area and deterring anti-social behaviour,’ with six percent of survey participants arguing for the installation of CCTV.

In terms of amenities, 22 per cent chose benches and seating, while 12 percent wanted bins. Other proposals put forward included picnic tables, play equipment, water feature, lighting and better disability access.