Sir,

In recent weeks there have been numerous stories about the potential cuts on local services for Tenby.

The Day Centre, the Library, even the Museum are under threat. The local councillors want Tenby to grow and see this massive housing development as a means for this to happen, but people will need to be convinced that this would be real growth in economic terms rather than simply increased demand on local public services which will further depleted by the time the site is built.

Readers will be interested in a direct quote from a letter dated December 21, 2015, from the Freedom of Information officer at the University Local Health Board when I made enquiries about the potential impact on already beleaguered health services.

‘The University Health Board has not received any notification from the relevant Planning Authority on this housing development. Tenby Cottage Hospital is not in the near vicinity of the property, as the Local Authority only has to consult those that are close.

‘This is a relatively small housing development, so it very unlikely that the UHB would be able to seek a contribution towards health care provision linked to a Section 106 Planning agreement or Community Infrastrucure Levy (CIL). This is only possible if a large development were to impact on a UHB site.’

I find it difficult to understand what a large development would need to be as this development is 168 family sized houses, potentially around 700 more people. As Tenby currently only has a population of 5,000, this is a very significant extra burden on local health and social services, not to mention the pressure on fragile infrastructure.

As the Health Board do not feel they can obtain Section 106 investment, then as local people we can only expect that our already overstretched or non-existent services will be more greatly impacted.

In the same letter, the Health Board acknowledge the problems with ‘significant workforce challenges’ at the local GP surgery and are actively working with them to address the problem.

Apart from the damage to the local environment, this site will cause huge disruption to traffic.

Local people were complaining recently about the traffic lights on the Narberth Road when the works on the water main to service the new housing estate currently being built near the nursing home took place and traffic is again being disrupted on this main access road.

This proposed site is three times as big and will need a new roundabout and road to be built; just imagine the disruption that will cause. Tourists and local shoppers will be deterred from visiting when parking and travel are made more difficult. There will be about 300 more cars from this site.

If people are concerned about the impact on their local services, a group formed to fight the development, ‘Save Brynhir Green Space and Wildlife’, has a Facebook page and around 1,000 members. There is also an email address we can be contacted on, [email protected] in order to fight this and get the land removed from the Local Development Plan.

G. M. Davies,

Narberth Road,

Tenby.