Councillors in Tenby are to write to Pembrokeshire County Council to get a definitive answer on developments at the town’s Brynhir site, after stating that they had been provided with a ‘lack of information’ by the authority on the proposed sale of the land.

Members of Tenby Town Council have previously requested to be kept informed on any discussions between PCC and developers so that the best option could be achieved for the people of the town when it came to developing the land.

The latest update given to councillors at their meeting on Tuesday night from PCC’s strategic property manager, Mrs. Helen McLeod-Baikie, said that the authority had met with the shortlisted developer and the agent last week to discuss the heads of terms.

“The shortlisted developer is keen to progress the scheme; however, they are now proposing something different to their original offer, so we are considering the options available to us,” reported Mrs. McLeod-Baikie in correspondence to the town clerk.

“It is likely that we will have to approach all the parties that previously expressed an interest in the site to ensure that all parties have been offered the same opportunity,” she added.

Responding to the update, Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter felt PCC were ‘bending the rules’ again, whilst Clr. Mike Evans said that prior to the correspondence, he and fellow Tenby county councillor Michael Williams had called for an urgent meeting to be held with PCC’s chief executive on the matter, as they too had been ‘kept in the dark’ on the proposed sale of Brynhir.

Clr. Evans said that he had put questions to a full meeting of the council at County Hall asking what expectations of affordable housing were conveyed during negotiations with prospective developers of the council owned land at Brynhir, also asking if the former head of housing was consulted prior to the advertisement for sale of the land.

He also queried what corporate strategy/aims were in place, so that Pembrokeshire could play its part in the delivery of 20,000 affordable homes, given that was the target of the Welsh Government over this term.

“The opportunity for affordable local housing with the sale of Brynhir is paramount for Tenby, so we need to know from PCC what expectations have been placed on the developers to provide this, and what offers have they come back with,” Clr. Evans told his fellow councillors.

“The land was designated in the Local Development Plan with a proportion of 50 per cent affordable housing, so it should be marketed as that,” he continued.

Clr. Mrs. Rossiter said that she had received a phone call from a resident concerned that Blind Lane at the land appeared to have been ‘blocked off’, so was wondering if things had moved on.

She added that the town council had pressed PCC long enough for a definite answer and that they weren’t going to go away with their questions.

Councillors agreed to write to the authority again on the proposed development at Brynhir, reiterating Clr. Evans’s questions.