Concerns over the upkeep of Tenby’s historic town walls has led a local councillor to suggest that the a ‘town wall trust’ could be the best way forward to help maintain them.

Building Control and Structural Engineer Manager at Pembrokeshire County Council Richard Lawrence, recently embarked on a ‘walkabout’ of Tenby’s Castle Hill with Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas who fears that the walls are ‘deteriorating rapidly’ after suffering extensive weed damage.

After concerns have also been raised about the conditions of the town walls along the South Parade by councillors, Clr. Mrs. Thomas also recently enquired if any funding could be uncovered to help preserve the resort’s historic town and castle walls, under an ancient landmarks or heritage scheme.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of Tenby town council, she said that Mr. Lawrence admitted that there was lots of work that he’d like to do, but once again explained that funding was tight at PCC.

“He kept saying that there was no money and I know that PCC are in a difficult position but it struck me whether we could look into other organisations in the area to set up a ‘town wall trust’ to raise money, similar to what has happened at Pembroke, where they have managed to raise an awful lot of money for their castle walls.

“I just thought that it was worth throwing that out into the public domain to make other organisations think about it.

“One thing that Mr. Lawrence did admit, was that work was urgently required on the ‘Dead House Steps’ leading down to the harbour, and I believe those works will start in October,” she continued.

Tenby’s ‘liaison link officer’ Richard Brown, who is also PCC’s head of environment and civil contingencies, was also present at the meeting and explained that Mr. Lawrence and CADW were very keen to try and do what they could to protect the town walls and look at the funding options available.

The Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane and colleague Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter once again pointed out how ‘immaculate’ the walls were on their recent visit to Pembroke Castle, with Clr. Mrs. Lane admitting that Tenby’s walls were now in ‘dire’ need of work.

“My only worry about opening it up to a trust, is the timescale that would take to take raise funds. Works should have been carried out by now - we’ve been asking for the past 20 odd years for a plan for repairs, which is on awful long time for some support!” she commented.

Correspondence from Tenby Civic Society’s chairman David Tudor Thomas also stated that they shared the town council’s concerns over the walls, stating that the lack of a ‘proper maintenance programme’ was leading to deterioration in their condition, but also had questions as to how this essential work would be funded.

One idea touted would be to open the walkway on top of the town walls to visitors, similar to what has been achieved in Dubrovnik.

“I understand that a walkway exists from the De Valence to the Coburg flats - could this be opened tree or four afternoons a week for a couple of hours during the summer to raise much needed funds for the maintenance of the walls?” suggested Mr. Thomas, stating that their experience was that substantial demand did exist for such access.

“In September 2016, a number of Tenby organisations (including the Civic Society, Chamber of Trade and Tourism, Arts Festival and Museum) working in partnership arranged a ‘Heritage Day’ - where one of several events was the opening of the town walls above the De Valence.

“In one afternoon approximately 100 people took advantage of the opportunity to walk on top of the town walls. The demand was so great that an additional tour was undertaken the following day,” he added.

The Mayor told her colleagues that the town council would be happy to work with the Civic Society to discuss the proposals further.

The town clerk Andrew Davies also explained that the tender documents for a proposed project to enhance the South Parade and also to illuminate the town walls were about to be sent off to start discussions for a funding bid for this scheme.