‘Beach friendly’ wheelchairs are now up and running in Tenby aiding users with access to the resort’s sands and even the sea.

Members of Tenby town council recently highlighted the need for the resort to become a more ‘wheelchair friendly’ as many of the town’s beaches were difficult to access for disabled and elderly people.

Clr. Sam Skyrme-Blackhall has been working with Pembrokeshire County Council access officer Alan Hunt, and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) to make arrangements for the wheelchairs to be available in the seaside town, and last weekend, she formally handed them into the care of Mike Lindsey of the Dennis Cafe, situated alongside Castle Beach and Matthew Danter of the North Beach’s Joe’s Diner, along with the town’s Mayor, Clr. Tony Brown.

The wheelchairs which can also be used on rough terrain, will be stored at these premises and operated on a first come first serve basis throughout the week, with a deposit required to hire them.

PNCPA have funded and insured the wheelchairs which costs £4,000 each. A third wheelchair for South Beach is also in the pipeline.

“I’ve lived in Tenby all my life and the beaches need a scheme like this,” said Clr. Skyrme-Blackhall.

“We are very grateful for the support of PCNPA for this initiative to ensure access to all our glorious Blue Flag beaches.

“We are also very grateful to Mr. Hunt from PCC who is working with Tenby Town Council to ensure we can improve access across the town in general,” she continued.

The wheelchairs, which have been trialled in Tenby for the past couple of weeks have already proved a hit, with a recent user Mrs. Julia Loder writing to the town council to praise the scheme, explaining she’d enjoyed a ‘lovely unforgettable day’ at the resort partly down to the ‘completely unexpected’ surprise of being able to go onto the North Beach, and right down to the water, thanks to the provision of the ’beach buggy’ wheelchair.

“You cannot image what a joy that was for me. It was perfect, just to experience for a little while, what other beach visitors do,” she remarked.

“The weather was perfect, my carer and I also enjoyed lovely fish and chips in the town,” she added, explaining that she was also able to use her mobility scooter without hindrance from traffic thanks to the pedestrianisation scheme.

Despite discussing the matter in recent times, the beach wheelchair scheme hadn’t come to fruition for the town council mainly due to a lack of storage options.

However, councillors reignited talks following correspondence from local resident Rachel Batchelor who wrote to them earlier this year regarding the matter which she explained was ‘close to her heart’ after her mum Gillian was left unable to walk due to a sudden illness last year.

She pointed out that her mum had lived and worked in Tenby her whole life, but since going through a ‘life changing’ experience after coming out of hospital and being confined to a wheelchair, accessing the beaches and even putting her feet in the sea, something her mum and other abled bodied people would perhaps have taken for granted, was now a real issue.

“The wheelchairs have been out four times already this past week, so visitors and locals alike are already seeing the benefits,” said Mike from the Dennis Cafe.

“The wheelchair on the North Beach will be available for the hours we operate, generally between 10 am and 5 pm throughout the week over the summer,” said Matthew Danter of Joe’s Cafe. “Keep any eye out for the signage leading to where they are available,” he added.

“We are very grateful to the owners of Joe’s Diner cafe and of course the Dennis Cafe for agreeing to store these wheelchairs for Tenby,” said the town clerk Andrew Davies.

Clr. Skyrme- Blackhall said that the wheelchairs were just the start of a campaign to improve access to all parts of Tenby, and that the Town Council will continue to work with PCC and PCNPA on a range of improvements.

She and the Mayor stated that that steps were also in place to try and help Tenby become a more dementia friendly town after they recently attended ‘Dementia Friendly Engagement’ events held in the resort.