Further talks over the future of Tenby’s Tourist Information Centre are set to take place in the New Year.

Pembrokeshire County Council is currently exploring the possibility with Tenby Town Council of a Community Asset Transfer of the TIC building, which was earmarked for closure earlier this year under PCC’s service prioritisation exercise saving the Authority £60,000.

At a meeting on December 2, PCC’s cabinet member for economy, tourism, leisure and culture, Clr. Paul Miller said that the council “shouldn’t have kept it open as long as we did” and it was an example of where the authority needed to be “ruthless about driving out unnecessary costs.”

He said it was “old hat, we don’t need it” and it did not provide economic benefit to the area.

Cabinet approved a recommendation to allow negotiations to continue with Tenby Town Council to allow the TIC to reopen in 2020.

However, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane told her fellow members of the town council in Tenby recently that ‘careful consideration’ was needed on the matter, accusing the county council of trying to ‘palm’ the facility off on them.

“We have already spoken about the extra costs that the town council has to incur in trying to maintain our gardens, and it is proven now by PCC wanting to close some, so we really need to look carefully at where our money needs to be, and my feeling is - can we really look at this option for the TIC. We definitely need to look at this a little more deeply,” she commented.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, town clerk Andrew Davies told members that they were looking to set a date to meet with the authority’s regeneration manager Sinead Henehan and strategic property manager Helen Mcleod-Baikie to discuss Property Services and Community Regeneration matters.

Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown said that she ‘totally agreed’ with Clr. Mrs. Lane’s recent comments on the matter.

“We really need to concentrate on what we’re being told when speaking to PCC on negotiations about the Tourist Information Centre, so we need a further meeting in the New Year and as many of us there as possible,” she said.

“We need to be clear that we’re entering discussions to look at the options available, and then go away as a town council, discuss these options, and form an opinion,” agreed Clr. Laurence Blackhall.

The town clerk said that he would look to arrange a meeting for Tuesday, January 14.