Members of the public complaining about noise issues and anti-social behaviour relating to a venue in Tenby have called for Pembrokeshire County Council's licensing team to review the premises' existing licence.

Members of Tenby Town Council received correspondence at their meeting on Tuesday night from the county council's senior environmental officer, Sarah Oliver, informing them that they had received a request that the licensing department look at the hours and conditions of the licence for the De Valence Pavilion in Upper Frog Street, because they had concerns about it.

Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown told members that under the new licensing laws, complaints by members of the public could be upheld based on evidence they submitted.

"The objectors have made their concerns public, so it's for us to discuss, as it's a very important thing for a premises to be under threat to lose it's licence in this day and age," she stated

The town clerk revealed that the application for a review had been submitted jointly by Mr. Graham Fry, who owns the Royal Lion Hotel opposite the De Valence, and Mr. Fecci, who resides next to the venue.

Both claimed that they had suffered noise disturbances from the venue and a number of other issues recently, including large volumes of youngsters coming out of the De Valence during and after events and queueing before, causing anti-social behaviour and blocking doorways and roads.

The complainants had also discovered general waste in their doorways following events, including litter, vomit and urine, while they also voiced concerns about people smoking in the street outside the building and youngsters swearing.

Issues involving the late times of loading and unloading at the venue also caused frequent disturbances.

The complainants said that things had come to a head on the night of Saturday, February 20, when at around 10 pm, Mr. Fecci was forced to leave his home, as the music coming from the venue had been too loud for he and his family to settle.

Mr. Fry, meanwhile, claimed that he had witnessed what could only be described as a 'riot in the street', with youngsters smashing glasses and a number of others trying to gain access to his property, along with general disorder, which he felt warranted a call for a review of the premises' licence.

In their letter, they called for a reduction in the premises' licensing hours, further loading restrictions added, more effective sound-proofing to be introduced, along with a smoking shelter and a mechanism for controlling queues, and also more control of the area outside the venue by the door staff.

After hearing the complaints, Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Julie Evans, said that the county council's licensing team needed to be informed of the town council's views over the activities that were claimed to be taking place outside the venue, affecting residents in the area.

"We have supported other residents in the area when they have made complaints regarding licensed premises, so we need to pass our concerns on to the county council and let their licensing team deal with it," she said.

Clr. Mrs. Sandra Williams said that it was sad that so many people living in other areas in the town had to experience similar issues living so close to public houses, but she didn't know what the solution to the problems was.

"I live in Frog Street, too, and I, with a lot of other residents, have to contend with these kind of issues, so if there are ways to alleviate these problems, then let's hope some solutions can be found," commented Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas, with her colleague, Clr. Mrs. Brown, agreeing.

"With respect, these issues do happen, but we should write to the county council and state that the town council would find it regrettable if a premises licence in Tenby was to be removed, but some of the points raised need to be addressed," she remarked.