Dear Mr. Morgan,

I am writing to you as the owner of the Royal Gate House Hotel which as you may be aware suffered substantial and irreparable damage over the recent Easter weekend. I should like to place on record my admiration and thanks for all the emergency services involved with particular regard of course to all the firefighters. Miraculously, no-one was injured during the incident.

Immediately after the incident, Pembrokeshire County Council, acting under Section 78 of the 1985 Building Act, took control of proceedings in order to secure and partially clear the site. Under their instructions, a large part of the hotel has been demolished and removed from the site and I am happy to concur with that course of action.

However, it would appear that an impasse has now been reached with regard to the remaining unsafe elements of the building and I should be grateful for any action that you are able to take in order to move things forward. I enclose an interim report by structural engineers Waterman Quadrant Limited and would draw your attention to their final recommendation that in the interests of public safety the remaining elements of the building should be demolished without further delay. It is my understanding that the local authority may be resisting this course of action and were it not for the safety aspect of such significance. I would consider, however, that the consequences of failing to act promptly and as professionally advised could have catastrophic results. It may even be that concern exists for the loss of an important building, but stipulation can readily be made by the planning authority that the rebuilding will replicate the façade and walls of the existing property for which an abundance of records and photographs exist.

Quite apart from the safety considerations, there are a number of other reasons for immediate action to remove the remaining elements. The hotel was aptly named 'Gate House' standing as it does on the junction of two main arteries into the walled town of Tenby. Any attempt to shore up the remaining structure with the use of scaffolding will necessarily straddle or close these two roads into and out of the town at a critical time. The town survives by maximising its opportunities during an all too brief summer trading season and that season will follow shortly after the forthcoming May Day and Whitsun holidays.

It is therefore of paramount important that in order to avoid a devastating effect on the remaining businesses in the town, the demolition and removal work be carried out immediately. Trade in the town has been on a downward spiral for a number of years and it is feared by all concerned that a failure to act promptly will result in the closure of a substantial number of enterprises with resultant and inevitable job losses.

Consideration must also be given to local residents whose access to the town and ability to move freely would be hampered by the unsightly and unnecessary scaffolding of the derelict building on a long term basis.

Looking further afield, Tenby remains the hub for tourism and businesses in the wider area of South Pembrokeshire and the effect of closing access to that magnet should not be underestimated. Whilst I was obviously unable to prevent the damage to my own hotel, I would consider myself derelict if I did not take every possible action to ensure both the safety of the public and the minimising of disruption and losses of jobs and businesses in Tenby and the surrounding area. I thank you for giving this matter your consideration and, as already set out, I would welcome any effort that you are able to contribute in order to resolve the situation. Should you consider it advantageous, I would be delighted to welcome and meet you or your appropriate minister to review the site at first hand.

Graham T. R. Fry MBA (Hons), Director,

Royal Lion Hotel, Tenby.