Tenby town council have agreed to a continuance of the annual grant towards the De Valence Pavilion venue.

The grant at present is £28,000 per annum, and in correspondence to the town council at their meeting on Tuesday night, the De Valence chairman Paul Rapi and treasurer Christine Brown, asked if this could reduced to £26,000 for the 2019/20 period, outlining their aim to reduce the grant annually.

They explained that they had a made a good start in upgrading the venue, which was attracting ‘positive reaction’ from users and hirers throughout the year, helping attract some high-profile events including ‘Ironman Wales’ to relocate race control for race day as well as their continued use for race briefings, which would not have been possible if the venue had not continued to upgrade its facilities.

In proposing to approve the grant, Clr. Laurence Blackhall said: “This is a fantastic news story - as eight or nine years ago, people had written off the De Valence, and urged the council to sell it for £400,000 to a Wetherspoons.

“Now here we have a facility paying for itself, offering activities and entertainment, and a resource for the likes of Ironman Wales. It will once again no doubt be heaving fof the Blue Festival this weekend, and is providing support for the town and a fantastic facility for Tenby,” he continued thanking Christine Brown, the volunteers and all those involved in their hard work in establishing the venue once again.

“Id’ propose an amendment to the grant proposal, and agree that the facility is given the funding a year ahead, so that they have always got that as a cushion, and if they want to reduce the grant annually, then fine,” he added, with his colleagues agreeing to the proposal.