A letter from the Rector of Tenby to Tenby Town Council regarding issues surrounding the town's old cemetery, has drawn a mixed response from councillors.

A recent letter to Tenby Town Council from a visitor to the cemetery, who stated that they were appalled by the overall condition of the burial grounds, with overgrown brambles disrupting paths leading to graves, led to the council writing to St. Mary's Church to pass on these concerns and also to clarify the council's position on which war graves they were responsible for upkeeping as part of their maintenance agreement.

At their meeting on Tuesday night, councillors received a reply from Rev. Andrew Davies regarding the matter.

"We are now just 18 months into a five-year Biodiversity scheme in the old cemetery, it is therefore far too soon to judge the effectiveness of our scheme, though I personally feel it is going well, and I am sorry to hear that some members of the town council are already critical of this," wrote the Rector

"Over many years, St. Mary's Church has spent thousands and thousands of pounds on maintaining the old cemetery, to only limited effect, and with very little help from the local community.

"Unfortunately, St. Mary's is no longer in a position to be able to do this, and we feel the Biodiversity scheme is an excellent way forward," he added.

Responding to his comments, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown felt it was a "poor letter".

"It's the church's job to look after the old cemetery and certain people are not happy with the state of it. It's an important part of Tenby and should be maintained better," she said.

Clr. Sandra Williams disagreed with her colleague's comments and felt that the Biodiversity scheme that Rev. Davies had mentioned, should be given a chance.

"It seems to be part of a plan with a reason for it, so I think we should see what happens and see if we can learn a bit more about the church's scheme," she remarked, with her fellow member, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, concurring.

"It would be interesting to have a proper walk around at the old cemetery with the church warden, so that we can understand more about what is happening up there," she said, before proposing a site meeting with the warden.