The owners of a hotel in Tenby which is to house Wales' first 'hotel school' have responded to concerns regarding the future of existing staff at the premises.

The £8 million project, the brainchild of Tenby Development Trust and Cardiff Metropolitan University, which will offer degrees in hospitality, was announced last week, with the school to be housed at the Fourcroft, owned by the Osborne family for the last 66 years.

The Hotel School will, at the same time as training students, offer first-rate five-star service to guests, with plans to open its doors in the autumn of 2015.

However, despite news of the venture being greeted warmly both in the town by local councillors and in Cardiff and Westminster, with MP Simon Hart and Assembly Member Angela Burns endorsing the project, questions have been asked in the community regarding the future of the hotel's present full-time staff.

"We understand that there will probably be some job losses in the interim as the hotel shuts, is re-modelled and refurbished and re-opened as a Hotel School," said a spokesperson for the Fourcroft.

"Then, as part of the project, a number of full and part-time posts will be created. In the long run, we think there will be more jobs, not less.

"Unfortunately the hotel will need to close to allow a major refurbishment exercise. We have thought long and hard about this, but there really is no other option.

"The new hotel will have a high ratio of staff to guest rooms and so there will be a net increase in the total number of positions needed to run the new Hotel School," added the spokesperson.