Pembrokeshire County Council have provided councillors in Tenby with an update on the Brynhir housing development - admitting that the timescale of the completion of the proposed scheme may be impacted due to site plans and designs being reconsidered.

In correspondence that was sent to members of Tenby Town Council ahead of its meeting this month, PCC housing officer Nia Davies explained that it had been the local authority’s intention to submit a planning application in Autumn of 2022 - however, she stated that more time was needed to review the site plan and design.

“As you may know, the site has a number of complexities that need to be considered,” she wrote.

“We continue to work with our appointed consultants to bring forward a definitive design of properties for the site based on its topography and type/size of dwellings required to address the housing need of the area.

“Although we have previously shown a number of 116 in public consultations, this is an indicative figure which is yet to be finalised.

“It is our intention to continue to work with our consultants to refine the site design and bring this forward to a pre-application consultation in spring/early summer 2023.

“This may, in turn, have an impact on the timescales we first provided for completion of the site which were originally summer 2026. We will keep you updated of this as and we have more information,” she added.

In 2018, the local authority which already owned the 15-acre site, purchased the land for £4million using its Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and outline planning permission for a development of 144 properties was granted in 2018, but progress on the scheme was initially held up due to the pandemic.

Drop-in events have taken place at the town’s De Valence Pavilion earlier this year for members of the public to find out more about the planned housing development.

The plans feature a centralised ‘Village Green’ containing MUGA (multi-use games area), and a higher density of smaller terraced homes fronting onto the central green; whilst the ‘Parkland Edge’ aspect of the proposals will be directly overlooking an ecological corridor, with larger semi-detached and detached homes.

The ‘Principal Road’ side will comprise of a formal street frontage, with three-storey corner buildings, two-storey semi-detached homes with on-plot parking; whilst there will also be public street intended to be lightly trafficked by cars, and maintaining pedestrian and cycle connectivity across the site.

Pembrokeshire County Council has stated that the proposed development is in response to an identified need for council housing in Tenby and reflects the demand for housing for local people seeking to move or return to the area.

Tenby town council have reaffirmed in recent months, that they are in favour of this development as long as it delivers the social housing Tenby desperately needs.

Mayor of Tenby, Cllr Mrs. Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, who is also the County Councillor for the town’s South Ward, said earlier this year: “There’s a lot of positivity about the development. We need these homes to be built. It’s about community and keeping our community in the town.”

However, the campaign group the ‘Tenby Greenspace Preservation Society’ has objected to the plans, concerned that the seaside town’s last remaining greenfield site will be lost, also stating that the housing development will not be aimed at ‘local people’.

In a full-page advertisement taken out by the Society that was recently published in the Observer, the campaign group stated that £4,129,000 had been ‘wasted’ by Pembrokeshire County Council on the Brynhir site as of March 31 of this year, with the Society believing that the money could have been better spent elsewhere in the town, on matters such as maintaining the town walls; repairing the market premises; towards a new swimming pool, and more.

“This was supposed to be for local families, and instead they’ve cut the number of homes and added more single bedroom flats,” stated the Society.

“Plans have been modified from the outline application, and now have a high percentage of one bedroom flats. This is not a balanced mix for a development of this size and a short term view for future requirements.

“28 homes have been axed, with the proposal now just 116 from a promised 144. Do not be fooled, we are losing a greenfield site and this development is not for local people!

“Pembrokeshire County Council have openly stated that allocation of the dwellings will only be for the top three housing criteria. Bronze level will not be allocated. Groups ‘Priority, Gold and Silver’ housing needs from anywhere in the county or even outside of the county, will take precedence.

“Too many one bedroom flats do not fill our schools, nor build a community. There is no bus route considered, steep access with poor amenities and entirely unsuitable for any ‘aged’ occupants.

“The development is an increase of 10% on Tenby’s population, putting further strain on our overstretched GP service.”

The Society went onto state that once the development starts, they envisage at least two years of ‘traffic lights and congestion’ on the main route into Tenby.

“Should planning go ahead, this congestion will be permanent, which will be detrimental to the trading of Tenby as a town,” they continued.

“This will cause huge disruption out of season, but in season the tailbacks to get into town will be massive!

“This site should be saved from the concrete and tarmac as a community greenspace, for allotments, getting ‘back to nature’ and more importantly for our climate and future generations,” they added.