Sir,

I've once again made my yearly pilgrimage to the Tenby/Saundersfoot area and have once again been moved by something or another to write a letter to your paper. Until now my wrath has always abated on my return home and the letter has not been penned, but not this time! I am, to use the colloquial term, gobsmacked by the plans of Pembrokeshire council to place their new recycling/waste amenity site between Bethesda and New Hedges.

Leaving all the emotive language aside - rats, smells, seagulls etc. - this site is just wholly unsuitable. I understand high chain link fences with security gates and cameras will have to be installed to deter fly-tippers and thieves; the visual impact alone will be of enormous detriment to the area. May I suggest that a young offenders prison be built on the site; the impact would be the same, but it would employ more people and the inmates could do community service!

Ah yes, and what about the increase in traffic caused by the aforesaid amenity site? My experience is that these sites are used very intensively at the weekends, with Saturday being the busiest day; this will of course coincide with tourist traffic entering and leaving the area; with possible queuing to enter the site on what is already a fast and dangerous road - which will become more dangerous, especially for those having to negotiate leaving the Brooklands Home, the Farm Shop and its neighbours, plus Bethesda cottages and the chapel.

The answer to this seems from the council side to be simple - a speed limit! Several residents of Bethesda have been asking the council for the past 14 years for a speed limit on this stretch of road, with letters sent to and from the previous MP for Pembrokeshire to the council.The answer has always been an intransigent 'no'! It seems one has to be in the council to have one's interests served.

But, of course, if the council continues on its course of neglect and incompetence, there will be no tourist traffic in the area to speak of. The problem of traffic will be solved and they can knock down the disgustingly dirty and dilapidated multi-storey car park in Tenby and build their amenity site there!

Jan Bowen,

Darmstadt,

Germany,

(former Tenby resident).