Tenby town council reiterated the importance of holding a full public consultation on housing development proposals for land at Brynhir, so that those both for and against the plans can have their say.

Details of a further outline application submitted by Pembrokeshire County Council with all matters reserved for 102 affordable residential units, 8 shared ownership residential units and 34 open market residential units together with associated access, drainage and landscaping, on land at Brynhir were discussed by members of the town council at their meeting on Tuesday night.

The application site is located on greenfield land approximately 1 mile north of the centre of Tenby, with the proposals consisting of the construction of 144 new homes.

In a pre-application consultation report prepared for the outline planning application, The Urbanists who are acting as planning consultants on the scheme, addressed concerns that the proposal will be detrimental to one of the few green space areas left in Tenby, stating that the site will be suitably screened by mature woodland and will include suitable landscape to assimilate it to the site setting

“It is acknowledged that one of the main purposes of the National Park is to conserve and enhance natural beauty and wildlife. However, the Authority also has a duty to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities,” states the pre-application consultation report.

“The proposals would provide much needed affordable housing for local people, thus addressing the significant local demand for housing.”

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting, Clr. Laurence Blackhall said that the outline plans were still very much a ‘work in progress’ he felt, but stated that he didn’t think that a full planning application from PCC for the scheme was too far away.

He called for a full public consultation to be held so that those for and against could view the plans fully and have their say.

“Now is the time for serious scrutiny of the final plans, and it is only right to have a full public consultation, which should be rigorous, so everyone can express their views,” he told his colleagues.

“My view still remains that this development should deliver on the affordable housing aspect when the final scheme is delivered.

“My plea to PCC is that we ask for a meeting with the cabinet member for housing and the council leader before the final application is submitted; along with a consultation event that we can hold here in the De Valence, so we can make sure that the people of Tenby can see all the details of the plans being put forward, so that there are no surprises when it comes to seeing the final application. Pointing people towards information online is not enough.

“I don’t think a full application is that far away, perhaps a couple of months,” he added.

“We have the venue ready here, so let’s have a public consultation on it,” agreed the Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown.