Court rules against adventure sports hub threatening Ceibwr Bay

 

The High Court has ruled that permission for an outdoor adventure centre near Ceibwr Bay in Pembrokeshire was unlawfully granted. This case originally began with ELF and was then taken up by campaign group Wild Justice who challenged the decision to grant permission with the help of Leigh Day.

In 2024 ELF assisted a community living in Pembrokeshire, the Welsh County famous for its beautiful, wild coastlines and sea bird colonies. They have had ongoing concerns about the remote Ceibwr Bay and the increasing disturbance to the nesting seabirds from recreational activity. In particular, the community got in touch with us about a planning proposal for an adventure sports hub for coasteering and other marine activities putting further pressure on the bay. We wrote about the proposal earlier in 2024, link here.

The spot is a popular destination for tourists but is also a protected site, home to a diverse range of wildlife such as grey seals, otters and several species of endangered birds. This causes an inevitable tension that can harm the environment and cause disturbance to the protected features. Despite the site being part of a Special Area of Conservation and designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of the lack of restrictions on tourists, activities such as coasteering frequently disrupt the habitats of protected marine animals and cause disruption to nesting birds.

ELF assisted the community objecting to the adventure sports hub and pointed out the need for a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) before approval of the application. Following our involvement, an HRA was carried out, but the application was approved by the Council in April 2025.  Wild Justice challenged the decision in Court and, on 5 September 2025, a ruling was handed down which quashed the decision to grant planning permission on the basis of a failure to disclose surveys on breeding birds and failure to consider the effect of the development on the SSSI.

ELF is delighted to see that the Court agreed that the Local Authority had erred in how it dealt with environmental issues, and hopes that any future development plans that may impact the protected site give appropriate weight to its extraordinary ecological value.