Sir,

I am very concerned about a recent public notice, which appeared in the Observer on June 14, about the closure of Tenby's Infant and Junior Schools and the building of a brand new combined school on the playing field, the establishment of a new Welsh medium combined infant and junior school on the site of the old Tenby Junior School.

We have only until July 14 to respond to this notice - which I have now done with a formal objection.

In addition, and although not mentioned in the notice, there has been a decision made by PCC to include on the same site the building of a new combined public and school library facility with additional space for computers and a 'Health Hub'.

The town council have no drawings for the proposal and, although I now discover they have been consulted about the development, they have not been consulted about the most recent plans and timescale and seem unclear about the exact nature of the proposals.

I would like to make the following observations:

The county council has spent a good degree of time in the local press congratulating itself over the extensive consultation it has undertaken with regards to the move of the Tenby library to the playing field on Heywood Lane - it has not. Consultation was only undertaken with the users and the Tenby community with regard to the proposed move to the Tenby Leisure Centre. The decision to move to the proposed new school site has taken place with no consultation.

The new proposal is as bad as the former. It is too far out from the centre of town. Access on foot is difficult for all users, especially the disabled and elderly, except by car, and for children during holiday periods, approximately 13 weeks in any school year.

The proposed new schools are in the planning stages despite no consultation taking place with the wider public and the property owners of the adjoining land. I point out here that I am a home owner on Serpentine Road - it is news to me and my neighbours.

The land identified for all this development is an Important Open Green Space. It is listed as such on the Local Development Plans, both past and present.

I cannot think of a single organisation or body, including PCNP, FIT (Fields In Trust) and the Welsh Assembly, that does not value Important Open Green Space and recognise its considerable importance to children and all members of the local community, especially for the promotion of health and well-being. These are the school rugby pitches, which are also used at the weekends for sports events. There is a public footpath through it. Since the county council-led demise of the local play parks, this is an important resource for the children and young people all around the area and is much used.

How can residents make an informed decision about the development when there are no plans available, no particular person made visible or available to enquire about the plans and only the most sketchy reference made to the development at all in tiny print in the form of a public notice.

A notice moreover that must be responded to by July 14, otherwise no doubt this will be deemed to have been accepted by all.

The Welsh medium primary school (infants and juniors 3-11) is going to have quite a large catchment area and therefore the amount of traffic using the unsuitable approaches to the proposed new schools via Serpentine Road and Heywood Lane is going to be considerably increased.

Anyone living in this area, and especially Serpentine Road and Heywood Lane, will tell you that the traffic suffered is already substantial; the prospect of more fills me with apprehension about the safety of home owners and pedestrians using these roads and walkways. Is the walkway along Heywood Lane adequate?

There is a lot of space around the existing Infant School that could easily be reorganised and extended -what is proposed for this existing building if the new development goes ahead?

There is a lot of space around the existing Junior School that could easily be reorganised and extended and possibly partially onto the front part of the playing field following the existing frontage line to accommodate a combined English medium primary school facility.

The development is going to require considerable parking so that much of the playing field will become a car park for users of the school, including teachers, and a public car park for users of the library, computers and 'Health Hub'. Are they actually going to be able to reach this facility or find a parking space near it whilst school is open?

The existing library facility is very well placed alongside the adult educational and youth facilities; there is plenty of space to extend within the existing plot, despite claims to the contrary. Tenby people realise that the main obstacle to this being developed is nothing to do with the availability of space, but the considerable sale value it represents to the council if sold to a developer for more luxury flats that only stand to benefit the developer.

Judging by the closure dates for the schools advertised in the public notice on June 14 -plans must be formalised and agreed pretty soon as I imagine the build will take 12-18 months so that the schools and library can open in September 2016. So very shortly the playing field will become a building site!

This whole thing seems not to have been thought through. The bulk of our community facilities, in terms of adult education, youth services, library, computers etc will no longer be easily accessible on foot and under one roof, but scattered around the outskirts of the town.

This may provide the county council with an easy way of fulfilling their obligation to the Welsh Assembly and the 21st Century Schools programme, but it is not fulfilling its obligation to the whole community and definitely not in terms of open consultation.

If anyone is concerned, please make representations by July 14 to:

The Director for Children and Schools, Pembrokeshire County Council, County Hall, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1TP.

Library Devlopment: Mike Cavanagh, Head of Cultural Services, Pembrokeshire County Council, County Hall, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1TP..

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