Sir,

Further to the Saundersfoot Community Council’s minutes published in the Observer dated Friday, May 13, the council stated that it was a concern that 25.8 per cent of Saundersfoot’s housing stock was owned as second homes and that the council tax for those fortunate enough to own such homes would be raised by 50 per cent. The funds raised by these means would be allocated to provide starter homes for Saundersfoot’s young people.

Perhaps a simpler way of ensuring that these starter homes are provided would be to insist that any development that includes affordable housing would have a stipulation that the affordable housing would have to be built first and not after the more lucrative housing stock has been built and sold. At the very least, a time frame for the construction should be included.

I refer to the development at the Cambrian Hotel which sold the private housing stock rapidly, but there is still no sign of the affordable housing being constructed. In previous community council minutes, this issue was raised with the developer and I believe the council were fobbed off by the developer who said they would start construction after all the private housing had been sold. Has any progress been made yet?

Do the council plan to raise the council tax to full time residents of Saundersfoot. Should a substantial proportion of the 25.8 per cent of the second home owners become disenchanted and decide to sell up, due to the bad feeling generated by the increased council tax, the number of full time residents would increase and consequently there would be a greater drain on the ‘purse’ since the holiday home owners use few, if any, of the services they now have to contribute towards.

I read with interest about the condition of the council’s crest and its poor state of repair. I was impressed with the council’s speed of action. It was decided that the crest was in need of repair, how the repair was going to be carried out and the cost incurred, all within one meeting. When the lights in the long tunnel were not functioning and the planters on the front were in poor condition, it took months, if not years, before any action was taken and even longer to complete the remedial works.

The cost of the painting the crest was quoted as £2,000. Surely there was a typo and the decimal point was in the wrong place. At a time where we can only have access to the library on four days of a week in winter and extremely limited hours, is this a good use of funds?

Adele Wood,

32 Rhodewood House,

St. Brides Hill,

Saundersfoot.