Proposals for a new pier and pontoon at Tenby Harbour hit some rough water when discussed by local councillors this week.

The application submitted by Pembrokeshire County Council for the construction of a pedestrian pier bridge and pontoon on the north side of the outer pier of the harbour, was brought before members of Tenby town council at their meeting on Tuesday night.

The county council have said that the project would improve access to 'tripping' boats operating out of the harbour, taking visitors to Caldey Island, on sightseeing cruises and fishing trips, and also provide a facility for visiting yachts to be able to gain access to the shore either by directly mooring to the pontoon or by utilising a tender having anchored offshore.

The authority also indicated that the current arrangements were inaccessible to people with a disability at any time.

However, correspondence which came before the town council on the matter from Alistair Mackay, of Tenby Sailing Club, suggested that the proposals wouldn't work for a number of reasons.

"The harbour users were given advance notice of this proposal last May and expressed strong reservations about any scheme that incorporated a floating pontoon and tethered ramp," explained Mr. Mackay, stating that the harbour users had a meeting to discuss the planning application again last month and came to the same conclusions as they had previously.

"Perhaps my feelings are summed up by saying Tenby needs a permanent structure to increase access, not the scheme in the planning application, which I fear would have an extremely short life," he added.

Further comments brought before the town council on the application came from local Harry Gardiner, who believed that the proposal would only be usable at high tide and would not be robust enough to withstand tide and waves power crossing.

Commenting on the development, which is part of Visit Wales' Coastal Tourism Project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, Deputy Mayor, Clr. Caroline Thomas, said that she was concerned that the scheme would not prove to be that worthwhile and indicated that she would prefer to back something more permanent, rather than the proposal brought before the chamber.

Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane gave her backing to the application and said that she felt it would be another facility to add to the town's harbour, while Clr. Mike Evans said that, although the development was not ideal, it would at least be a facility for visitors and yachtsmen to access during the busy summer period.

The application was described as a "crazy plan" by Clr. Will Rossiter, however, who refused to give his approval to the proposal.

"You don't have to be a tidal expert to see that it's not going to withstand the force of the waves. It looks so flimsy that it's just going to get washed away," he said.

The majority of councillors elected to vote in favour of the application, which Mayor, Clr. Trevor Hallett, has since described as "an artist's dream, a builder's nightmare and a ratepayer's headache."

In a letter to the Observer this week, he states that the funding would be better spent upgrading or renewing the present system, which 'at the moment meets most of the requirements and has worked successfully for many years'.