The Mayor of Tenby has again made efforts to clarify the town council's position with regard to the recent closure of the town's arts and entertainment venue.

Speaking at a meeting of the council on Tuesday night, Clr. Mrs. Julie Evans felt that there was still some misunderstanding amongst the public over the reasons for the temporary closure of the De Valence building in Upper Frog Street, which was now back in the hands of the council after the De Valence Trust was placed into insolvency.

The Mayor wanted to set the record straight as she believed a lot of local people still didn't fully understand the situation, judging by recent comments documented in the local press and personal feedback given to councillors.

"The closure of the De Valence was brought about by the unfortunate failure of the Trust. We view the closure as a necessary, short term and temporary position," said Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Evans.

"We have already begun improvements in the foyer and other areas and are taking steps to bring the building back to an acceptable standard.

"Despite generous funding over six years, together with benefits which came with the Trust's charity status, just over one month into this year's financial period, the Trust was already £38,000 in debt," she stated.

She acknowledged that a number of factors had contributed to the debt, but financial support from the council was not one of them.

The Mayor also said that the town council had not previously made it clear to the public that Pembrokeshire County Council had advised them that no grant money could be awarded to a charity that was in serious financial debt and that they were further informed by the Arts Council that there was no grant money available for capital projects.

"Given this and the fact that the Trust, over a six-year period, failed to build up sufficient capital to take their programme forward, or maintain the building to the standards required, we the town council have been sensible in our staged approach to continued funding," she continued.

"The town council has made the right decision, acting to ensure good governance in safeguarding public money and public assets."

Clr. Mrs. Evans referred to a letter published in the Observer last week under the heading 'Think carefully', which she felt summed up how cautious they must be in their deliberations on the future of such an important facility.

"I couldn't agree more with the letter and wish to reassure the public that we will make every effort to maintain this facility in whatever form that may be for the benefit of local people and tourists alike," she added.

Clr. Mrs. Brown concurred that it was no fault of the town council that the Trust had got into so much debt.

"They would have gone into liquidation anyway, as a non profit Trust in such debt, it's not our fault that they got into such a mess," she commented.

The Mayor added that the town council still welcomed feedback and comments from the public on any ideas for the future of the facility.