The Deputy Mayor of Tenby has hit back at comments from a former Mayor who suggested that the ‘new council’ would still have the same ‘old faces’ making decisions for the town.

In a recent letter to the Observer, Clr. John Griffiths, who was the town’s Mayor 10 years ago, ‘confessed’ that his main objective in standing to be a town councillor again was an attempt to ‘force an election’.

“Last Thursday (May 4), there should have been a town council election in Tenby, but once again, the electorate apathy prevailed,” wrote Clr. Griffiths in his letter which was published under the heading ‘A few suggestions for the future of Tenby’.

“I will confess that my main objective in standing for election this year was an attempt to create sufficient numbers to force an election.

“Instead, the ‘new’ council will comprise the same old faces, three of whom are entering their 30th year in office.

“In the meantime, Tenby drifts further towards becoming a dull, dreary retirement town beside the sea rather than a vibrant seaside resort,” he added.

Responding to the comments at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, the newly-installed Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown, told her colleagues around the table, including Clr. Griffiths, that ‘every suggestion’ in the letter that ‘the writer’ had gone on to propose, had been ‘considered and discussed’ by the town council over the years and, in some cases, acted on and achieved by ‘the same old faces’.

“Can I tell you of some of the work involved in being a ‘consultee’ council - we cannot make decisions about our town without the approval of the senior authority, Pembrokeshire County Council,” remarked Clr. Mrs. Brown.

“We try, we rant and rage and, on a few occasions, we succeed in achieving our goals, however recent PCC cutbacks have made things very difficult for TTC.

“The knowledge acquired over time by the 20 and 30-year veterans of our council is imperative - we are not here to be popular amongst the electorate, we are here to try and improve the quality of life in Tenby for locals, retirees (whom I welcome) and tourists alike.

She went on to say that ‘we as old councillors work hard’, giving examples of the positive work that her colleagues such as Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas, Clr. Trevor Hallett and Clr. Sue Lane, had achieved in their 30 years sitting on the town council.

“Of course, this is a small part of what we do, as every month there are more problems which we strive to solve,” she continued.

“As a former councillor and Mayor, Clr. Griffiths should appreciate what is involved. We welcome him back and hope that he will work with us to help achieve what he set out in this letter.

“We may be ‘old faces’, but our energy and commitment to the town is without fault!” added Clr. Mrs. Brown, with her colleague, Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter, seconding her views, stating that she did ‘take exception’ to the letter, making reference to the fact that the aforementioned councillors who had given 30 years service to the town council, along with herself and Clr. Mike Evans, who had been a town councillor for 15 years, were all voted in ‘by the people’ of Tenby.

Clr. Griffiths, who was attending his first meeting back on the council since the local elections, said he was a little bit ‘disturbed’ by the response, as he hadn’t aimed the letter as a personal attack on the council.

“It was never intended as a criticism of the ‘old faces’ on the town council, as I am one of them! It was a critique on Tenby, and my observations since moving back over the past 25 years, as this once vibrant holiday resort has been struggling, with fewer and fewer people coming here, so I was merely trying to generate a discussion on the future of the town,” he said,

“We don’t want to be a quaint retirement town by the sea, where is the vibrancy!” stated Clr. Griffiths

Clr. Laurence Blackhall said that, although he didn’t agree with all of the ideas in his colleague’s letter, he agreed it was healthy to have a discussion.

“I look forward to these matters being debated in the future when it comes to further consultation on a ‘masterplan’ for Tenby, perhaps at the next Regeneration meeting,” he said.

Clr. Mrs. Brown said that it was difficult for the town council to implement ideas for Tenby, due to the financial cuts they faced from PCC.

“We are 13 people around a table, we can’t do it all, especially without help from PCC and PCNPA, who have even moved their premises out of the town themselves; they haven’t got the money either!

“As much as we discuss matters, it’s difficult to shift things further unless we have the money,” continued Clr. Mrs. Brown.

“Whatever ideas we come up with, we still need the finances,” added the Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane.

*A copy of Clr. Griffiths’ original letter to the Observer can be viewed in the link below