By Paul Evans

Tenby councillors gave their backing to the demolition of two of the town's historic buildings this week, as an original scheme for a major planning development has had to be scrapped. Anglodefine Limited, a local company owned by Frank and Philip Booth and families, had already put forward outline plans and a design for the redevelopment of the town's former Guildhall and Glendower House buildings, which the town council had given their approval to. The plans, which the developers had already discussed with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park's planning department, were to incorporate a variety of two, three and four-bedroom apartments, all built to extremely high standards, with sea views. However, those plans are now the subject of a rethink, due to structural and conditional problems with both buildings, making any potential refurbishment scheme unviable. Developer Mr. Frank Booth and the scheme's architect, Mr. Nigel Evans, met with town councillors on Tuesday evening, to put forward their proposal for demolishing the buildings to enable them to plan a more beneficial redevelopment for the town. Both felt it was not practicable to continue to use the buildings for their existing use and that redevelopment would produce substantial planning benefits for the community which would decisively outweigh the loss resulting from demolition. "Unfortunately, we've encountered some major structural problems with the buildings, which has made the original plans unviable; therefore, a new version of plans could see the buildings demolished, as what is there is not stable," Mr. Booth explained. "We haven't a fixed plan for a new design yet, but feel very confident that this is a great opportunity to create a brand new landmark building, something that we can all be proud of," he continued. The only stumbling block the developers could see with the proposal to demolish the buildings was that they were grade II listed, therefore any application to National Park planners would have to meet strict criteria. "We understand that most buildings built between 1700 and 1840, as was the Guildhall, were automatically listed, irrespective of architectural merit," commented architect, Mr. Nigel Evans. "Indeed, the listing papers for the Guildhall quote an early description of the building as being 'an ugly square lump which could be placed on its side or upside down without injuring proportions', with the Guildhall and Glendower House being further embarrassed by having additional changes built on to them." The developers had also addressed the development potential along the Norton and considered that a quality facade of new buildings would not only enhance the site itself, but also the approach along one of the primary routes into the town, which they felt was currently giving a very poor first impression to both residents and visitors alike, due to the quality and condition of the site and several other buildings further along the road. Responding to the developers' proposals, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown gave her backing. "I personally would welcome pulling the buildings down, if they are already unstable, and feel confident that we can leave it in the hands of the developers to produce a new design, in keeping with the town's architecture," she said, supporting the scheme in principle, with Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane also welcoming the viewing of any new plans in the near future. With the council's backing, the developers are now hoping for a prompt consultation process with the National Park Planning Authority, so that progress on the redevelopment can be made quickly before the 2006 holiday season.