Sir,
I would like to express my total agreement with Jane Flavin ('Absolute Travesty', letters, July 2) with regard to the precipitous closure of the De Valence. It provided a much needed cultural centre for the town and its removal without any convincing apology from the council is an insult to the people of Tenby.
It is also an unfortunate coincidence that the only member of the council with an inside knowledge of the De Valence, Mike Thorne, felt himself pressured into resignation just before this matter came to a head.
I come back from visiting Narberth, with its thriving Queens Hall acting as a catalyst breathing new life into the cultural life of the town, and I weep for Tenby. We do not deserve only to be drowned in stale beer and chip wrappers without an alternative.
What Tenby deserves is a vision that extends beyond short term financial expedience. Could we please be given a comprehensive list of the events that have had to be cancelled because of this closure, and what we are being offered in their place; apart, that is, from even more retail premises (probably closed in the winter) or holiday apartments (likewise). Income from rates must not be the only criterion or Tenby will become just another wealthy corpse of a town.
Perhaps we should hire Narberth council to act as cultural consultants to Tenby. There are worse ways to spend ratepayers money.
Geoffrey Whitehead,