Sir,
Tenby Town Council seems very ready to blame anyone but itself for the closure of the De Valence Pavilion.
Despite funding of the arts being cut back generally, the extremely hard-working director of the De Valence, Victoria Smathers, was in the process of finalising grants - from the European Union and the Arts Council - worth almost a million pounds.
Yet this all fell away when the town council decided to cap its annual contribution to the De Valence at £5,000.
Only two reasons come to mind for the councillors' bizarre decision to restrict their contribution. Either they knew exactly what the consequences of their action would be and this fitted in with an undisclosed agenda.
The other reason is that, despite being kept fully informed about the grant applications, they simply failed to realise what a damaging effect their decision would cause.
Thousands of hours of work by local volunteers have maintained and improved the condition of the De Valence since it was handed over to the Trust. What a pity the council's action denied the De Valence the funds which would have made it a top class venue in the county. This money will now go to some other enterprise - outside Tenby.
Now, instead of supporting the De Valence, which provided a desperately needed entertainment and community facility for locals, and also attracted visitors to the town, the council is now obliged to pour Tenby ratepayers' money into keeping open a rather expensive storage facility for the Mayor's robes.
Jo Perkins,
Tenby.