Sir, Following the devastating fire and aftermath affecting the Royal Gatehouse Hotel, I should like to add one or two comments regarding any proposed remedial work. The Gatehouse Hotel sits directly on a major fracture line (the Ritec Fault), where the underlying rock strata have been substantially broken, twisted and crushed by movements on this fault line. This is testified to by the varied orientations of the rock outcrops on North Beach in the immediate vicinity of 'Barrel/Basket Rock' and, also, by the pulverised nature of the substrate above the promenade and below The Croft. When abundant surplus water is added to these near-powdered rocks, as was the case with the volumes to put out the blaze, there is every opportunity of liquefaction occurring along the fault plane and it splays which, in turn, may generate land subsidence and, possibly, landslip due to slope failure. It is, therefore, of prime importance that the most detailed appraisal of the immediate subsurface geology be undertaken with extensive foundation engineering works, in and around the site, before any plans for remedial work are approved and, certainly, before any future building work takes place. Brian Williams, Visiting industrial professor of geology, University of Bristol,
Flat 4, Campbell House, High Street, Tenby.