Proposals by Pembrokeshire County Council to reduce the opening hours of a local civic amenity site, have been rubbished by Tenby councillors this week.

Members of Tenby Town Council received correspondence at their meeting on Tuesday, from the authority who want to find out people's views on its proposals to open their civic amenity and recycling sites scross the county five days a week instead of the current seven days.

In the proposals, the authority states that they plan to reduce the opening hours at the six sites, including the Salterns in Tenby, which will soon be replaced by a new site at Crane Cross, near Saundersfoot.

The proposals would see the Crane Cross facility open only five days a week, between April 1 and September 30, from 8 am to 5 pm, and from October 1 to March 31, close at 4 pm. Currently the site is open until 7 pm on weekdays, and 6 pm on weekends over the summer period.

"Pembrokeshire County Council, like other local authorities, needs to make savings in order to balance its budget in the wake of government spending cuts," wrote project officer Katie Daly in a letter to the town council.

"It is therefore proposed that every site moves to a five-day-a-week operation. As the busiest days are generally Friday and the weekends, the suggested days for closure would be staggered over Monday to Thursday, so that an alternative site in reasonable proximity is always available in the event that individuals and businesses need to dispose of materials on any specific day.

"Usage figures also indicate that operational hours at a number of sites can be reduced in the summer period with only limited impact on users," she continued.

Responding to the proposals, Clr. Mike Evans believed the cuts in operating hours would be "detrimental" to the area.

"This is a back door measure from the authority, as this was never mentioned when they decided to move the civic amenity from Tenby," he told his fellow councillors.

"Don't they understand the rise in the population in the area over the summer period?

"To close the facility so it's open to just five days a week over the summer and reduce the hours is a big no-no. In total, they would be losing around 35 hours a week.

"They certainly haven't got these proposals right for the summer period. A lot of residents work nine to five, and utilise the facility after 5 pm.

"This could lead to fly-tipping over the summer months. We must formally object to these proposals," added Clr. Evans.

Clr. Lawrence Blackhall agreed, and suggested that the town council write to other community councils in the surrounding area to share their views on the matter.

"We shall formally object to these proposals on behalf of the community, as the county council have got this wrong," remarked Deputy Mayor, Clr. Paul Rapi.

The county council's consultation on the proposals was launched on Monday at http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/haveyoursay">www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/haveyoursay, with the deadline for responses being April 10.