First tenant announced for Pembrokeshire County Council’s Western Quayside development in Haverfordwest

The first tenant at Pembrokeshire County Council’s Western Quayside development in Haverfordwest has been agreed.
Hospitality company Loungers intends to occupy the ground floor of the building, part of the council’s long-term regeneration plan for the county town.
Loungers, founded in 2002, runs Lounge café bars across the UK – including the Cofio Lounge at the Guildhall, Carmarthen.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change, Cllr Paul Miller said: “I’m really pleased to be in a position to announce the first tenancy for Western Quayside. Loungers shares our ambition and potential for the Western Quayside development in the centre of Haverfordwest.
“Western Quayside will play a key role in improving footfall and vibrancy in Haverfordwest and Loungers fits perfectly into that vision.
“An important part of Loungers’ ethos is the community element of its neighbourhood café bars and commitment to work with local groups, charities, organisations and businesses and we look forward to that continuing in Haverfordwest.
“As a council we have been clear that we will not just sit back and let our town centres decline and this is an important step forward.
“We look forward to announcing further tenants in due course and of course to opening Western Quayside later in 2024.”
Gemma Irwin, community manager at Loungers, says: “We’re so looking forward to opening our Lounge in Haverfordwest later this year.  We hope our family friendly environment and top-notch food and drink offering will prove popular with local residents.
“We’re passionate about integrating genuinely into the communities we serve so we’re looking forward to meeting everyone and to playing our part at the heart of Haverfordwest’s food and drink scene.
“Anyone looking for a space to host events or groups should pop in once we’re open, we’d love to hear from them and see what we can do to help.”
The three-storey riverside building, on the site of the former Ocky White department store, hit the headlines in 2022 with the unexpected discovery of hundreds of human remains delaying part of its construction.
Construction work commenced in 2021 by John Weaver Contractors Ltd, and the project was originally expected to be completed in early 2023. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​