Sir,
There is plenty to pursue; no public access onto the Town Walls or St. Catherine's Fort. Grants to historic and listed buildings to meet the cost of suitable renovation works have been cut in percentage terms - such funding appears secondary to big new schemes elsewhere in the county. High residential prices attract redevelopment or conversion to flats; acquisition prices are high - as a result financiers require as many flats as the planners will allow; schemes bulge up or outwards. Charming Georgian or Victorian business premises and houses in family ownership whose interior and exterior architectural features have been carefully cared for with appropriate materials and workmanship, face a threat when owners die, or retire; the best market price is sought for and flat-builders could zoom in like gulls on abandoned fish and chips. In earlier less vigilant days, such 19th century premises original interiors were ripped out.
Tenby has many more local shops and business than many British towns; it has real local financial strength, but support and muscle from the county council, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the Assembly is needed to help private finance afford the extra cost of heritage renovation and promotion. Wider local support for heritage issues would help preserve Tenby's historic character. Owners attitudes to historic buildings vary greatly from resentment of the restrictions of Listing to treasuring a building's features over years of restoration. So some old stone walls are restored with lime mortar and others mishandled with cement.
One owner 'repairs' a cast iron gutter with plastic that bends and leaks when it rains, another waits months to repair railings requiring a craftsman skilled in wrought iron. Most local owners and businesses accept the long time it can take to achieve building proposals acceptable to the Park's conservation planners.
As for the article's first sentence "there is no organisation in Tenby which champions Tenby heritage", that has been a part of the civic society's role for 50 years. Had the word 'solely' been there, I could agree - the civic society does take on board other issues - we objected to the Park and the county's silly proposals this year to build on three of Tenby's six car parks with no alternative parking proposed in the recent Local Preferred Strategy; just where the heck would many visitors park?
We monitor planning applications weekly. We do 'do heritage'; we have published a historical town trail leaflet for the walled town, we installed plaques commemorating items in Tenby's heritage and have more to come, we oppose proposals to rip out original Georgian or Victorian interiors.
We objected to the demolition of the café in which Dylan Thomas read from the final version of Under Milk Wood just before his fatal trip to the USA; cultural heritage from an iconic Welsh author; we can offer a plaque when the new building is complete.
The civic society has not sought publicity, but got on with the job, with limited resources. We welcome new members to contribute to our work. We warmly welcome another society's resolve to act on heritage.
Our annual general meeting fully discussed and was split on the demolition of the Gatehouse. Some members of the historical society may have a view coloured by that and have forgotten our 50 years of work before that. But we wish them 50 years of productive work and will be happy to co-operate. Heritage is what we inherit from those before us, but it is also what we create for those who follow us; both preservation and creation need care and money!
Campaigns can raise important issues, but those with property and finance have a big part to play. Harry Gardiner. MRTPI, BA(hons), DipTP, AWPF, chairman, Tenby Civic Society.