A proposal to move Jobcentre Plus services out of Charles Street in Milford Haven has been described as 'degeneration by stealth' by councillors this week.

Last month, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) stated its intentions to ‘lift and drop’ its Jobcentre Plus services from its premises in Charles Street to the Port Authority building in Cedar Court.

But at Monday's public works and planning committee, Cllr John Cole said the move was a 'rationalisation' of services.

He said: “What worries me is that we’ve lost the post office, we’ve lost the Jobcentre building, what’s the next move? Is it going down to Cedar Court as an interim measure? They may decide to rationalise even further and make Haverfordwest the main Jobcentre for the area.

“There seems to be a tendency to move a lot of services out of our town, and I’m concerned about that.”

Cllr Harries added: “What makes me particularly cross is that this council has been busting its gut for several years in an effort to regenerate Charles Street.

“We’re supposed to be working in unison with other organisations and authorities, and we find that without any consultation, gradually the degeneration of Charles Street is being promoted by other organisations, which is totally contradictory to what we’re trying to do.”

Cllr Cole said that the two former doctors surgeries, Robert Street and Barlow House, were to be redeveloped as residential accommodation.

He added: “What if the Jobcentre building follows suit? This is degeneration by stealth.”

In a letter to the town council, Jobcentre Plus district manager Pam Sutton said that the proposed closure of the current Jobcentre and co-location to the Port Authority site "will not result in any reduction of services".

She added that Jobcentres were increasingly used for booked appointments only as more and more customers were going through its telephone and electronic channels.

But Cllr Cole, who described the letter as "foggy" said it failed to indicate why services were being transferred to Cedar Court.

Cllr Harries proposed to write to the DWP to inform them that "moves like the one they are intending is really bringing about degeneration".

He added: "We must plead with them not to contemplate such a move.”