heritage
with a future
Haverfordwest occupies a distinctive place in Pembrokeshire. As the county town, it has historically been a centre of administration, trade, culture and civic life, reflected now in its dense concentration of listed buildings, historic streetscapes and landmark structures spanning nearly a thousand years.
A view of Haverfordwest Castle from the Old Bridge.
Despite its rich historic fabric, Haverfordwest continues to face persistent social and economic challenges. National analysis from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2025 shows that two areas in the town fall within the most deprived 10% of areas in Wales and a further two neighbourhoods fall within the most deprived 30%. These areas of deprivation are in and around the historic core of Haverfordwest where challenges relating to income, employment, health and access to services coincide with a high number of vacant and deteriorating buildings.
Haverfordwest’s High Street has seen many changes.
A high proportion of commercial premises in Haverfordwest town centre stand vacant or underused. In 2022, 21% of Class A premises were recorded as vacant (Pembrokeshire County Council retail survey data) rising to 25% in 2023 with 50 empty units across all use classes, the highest figure recorded for any town in Pembrokeshire.
Temperance Hall, our first project, before our intervention.
Alongside this, a number of listed buildings in the town are identified on the All Wales Listed Building Condition database as either ‘at risk’ or ‘vulnerable’. Many of these buildings occupy prominent positions along the High Street and surrounding streets, shaping daily experience of the town. Their deterioration affects confidence, investment and footfall while limiting opportunities for social, cultural and economic activity.
Engaging with local people as an integral part of our renovation work.
The causes of decline are numerous and complex. They include the movement of services and retail to out-of-town locations, changing patterns of work and consumption, and the high cost of restoring historic buildings.
The new signature bridge, a sign of investment and regeneration.
At a local level, Pembrokeshire County Council is delivering a live regeneration programme for Haverfordwest that encompasses major town centre projects that will be completed over the next five years. All are intended to increase footfall, improve connectivity and support the revitalisation of the town’s historic core.
telling
a new town story
Within this context, there is a need for a dedicated, place-based organisation whose sole focus is to bring Haverfordwest’s historic buildings back into active use for community benefit. Without such a body, opportunities to secure funding, coordinate expertise and deliver coherent heritage-led regeneration are challenging and difficult to sustain.