A 60-page report from the National Park Authority's case planning officer had recommended refusal of the scheme, stating that it represented "an inappropriate and harmful form of development on land within the open countryside and along a key tourist route into the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park" and as such would by its very form, character and scale, erode the special character and qualities of the National Park.

The report also added that the proposed development would likely impact unacceptably upon the living conditions of the vulnerable residents at Brooklands Nursing Home adjacent to the application site.

Speaking at the meeting at the Cleddau Bridge on Wednesday morning, development management committee member, Clr. Tony Brinsden, complimented the case officer's comprehensive report, and labelled the county council's late withdrawal of the application as "absolutely disgusting".

"In times where authorities are strapped for cash, to put us to the expense of holding this meeting at another location, as we were expecting quite a few people to attend, but then only to cancel this charade at the 19th or 23rd hour is wrong, especially when they obviously knew a few days ago that they were going to withdraw the application," he remarked.

His colleague, Clr. Michael Williams, agreed: "It's not just the authorities that have been put through expense, but think of all the people that were coming to make representations to the committee and those that will have come quite a distance to speak on the matter or to observe.

"It's extremely inconsiderate, and unbelievable that a body like the county council brings the whole process into disrepute," he added.

Committee member Christine Gwyther also felt aggrieved that the issue couldn't be dealt with at the meeting.

"The further delay on this matter is piling on the agony for those against the scheme, it would have been nice to have been able to put this matter to bed one way or another today," she commented.

Darren Umanee, manager of Booklands Nursing Home, commented: "We were completely taken aback to hear that the county council had withdrawn this application at 7 pm on the Tuesday evening before the meeting.

"This has caused a great deal of inconvenience and cost to relatives who were intending to speak at the planning meeting.

"Our main concern now is where does this leave us? Are we now to face a further period of anxiety and stress waiting for PCC to state their intentions? Do they now intend to submit a new application or abandon the site adjacent to Brooklands?

"We will now be asking for assistance from our elected representatives to see if they are able to clarify the county council's future intentions."

Mr. Umanee has called for the county council to recognise and acknowledge the high level of distress he says they have caused to residents of the home and their families and staff since July of last year when they first informed the home of what he called an "ill-conceived and ridiculous scheme" to establish a "waste dump" next to their specialist Elderly Mentally Infirm unit.

"We would appeal to the elected members of the county council not to put our residents and families through yet a further prolonged period of uncertainty - it's now time for the elected members to instruct officers to abandon any further applications with regard to this particular site location," he remarked.

"We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our residents and their families, and our staff along with the many supporters for their unstinting support they have given Brooklands throughout the last 12 months.

"We would also like to offer a special thanks to the Assembly Members of the Petitions Committee of the Welsh Government along with our MP and all of our Welsh Assembly members - and again we would like to extend a very special thanks to councillors Phil Baker and Jon Preston who have wholeheartedly supported Brooklands," he added.