Residents of Tenby's Serpentine Road are unhappy after claiming they have been left in the dark over proposals to make the road a one-way route on a trial basis.

Tenby Town Council, along with representatives from the three schools in Heywood Lane, have met with residents and Pembrokeshire County Council officers on numerous occasions to try and find a solution to longstanding traffic and parking problems in the area, mainly caused by parents dropping off and picking up their children.

The county council's traffic manager, Mr. John Price, recently confirmed that a one-way trial scheme, with the traffic flow from Heywood Lane to Narberth Road, would be considered.

However, several residents of Serpentine Road are against the idea and feel that they have not been consulted. They have also signed a petition giving their reasons why they feel the scheme would not work and be of an inconvenience to them.

One resident, Mrs. Marion Davies, met with town councillors on Tuesday night.

She explained why the vast majority of householders were against the proposal, and said that after consulting with Mr. Price, found they had not been invited to a public meeting to discuss the matter, whereas residents of St. David's Close and Tudor Way had been asked to attend.

"We feel that the idea of this one-way proposal is like trying to crack a nut with a sledgehammer," Mrs. Davies told councillors.

"I don't see the benefits of the scheme. It will not alter the way people park along the street; their vehicles will all just be facing the same way.

"It will also cause no end of inconvenience to residents if we are coming from anywhere north of town as we will have to drive down the Maudlins and make a dangerous right turn across traffic into Heywood Lane, and during the height of summer we will have to join a long queue of traffic into Tenby before we are able to get to the bottom of Heywood Lane," she continued.

"My neighbours and I feel very cross that we haven't been consulted on any of this; it has really stirred up a lot of strong feeling," claimed Mrs. Davies.

Clr. Mrs. Sandra Williams explained that the recent meetings had been held to try and find a solution that worked for everyone.

"All we want to do is find a way to alleviate these problems with a scheme that works for everyone, but the safety of the children attending the schools is paramount, as it can be very dangerous in that area," she said.

Clr. Mike Thorne felt that, although views on the proposals had to be balanced, taking into consideration the safety of the children as a priority, he believed that the trial scheme should go ahead.

"It will be an inconvenience to some, but so is any traffic management - just look at the pedestrianisation scheme in the town for walled town residents. In the greater scheme of things, we are not the decision-makers, just the consultees, but I stick with the view that a trial scheme should be tried," he said.

Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas and Clr. Mrs. Trisha Putwain both shared the concerns of the Serpentine Road residents, saying that they felt it was a "severe solution" to the problem.

After a vote on the matter, the majority of councillors agreed that the one-way trial scheme should be given a chance.