Sir, In response to recent local concerns about controversial development proposals for the centre of Saundersfoot and your front page article in last Friday's Tenby Observer, I would like to add the following information about community groups and the work already being done to identify a meaningful purpose for the Coal Office building. In Saundersfoot, many local people are extremely proud of the area's industrial heritage. Saundersfoot residents also take great pride in the appearance and facilities of their village and over the years numerous people have worked hard and fund-raised to provide such facilities as the Sensory Garden and the new Regency Hall. In 1992, the Saundersfoot Community Council realised that to achieve good facilities and funding it was necessary to demonstrate what the community wanted and that its residents would work collaboratively to achieve the best they could. As a result, the whole community was invited to form a group, Saundersfoot 2000, to develop ideas for its regeneration and development. A community appraisal was undertaken to elicit the views of all residents and the result published in an Action Plan. Subsequently, Saundersfoot 2000 became the Saundersfoot Community Forum. Assisted by SPARC and subsequently PLANED in 2007 and 2013 there were further consultations and the Action Plans updated and delivered to every household. The latest plan was approved at a public meeting in March 2013. The plan highlighted the importance of heritage to the community and saw a role for the Coal Office as a heritage centre for the Saundersfoot Bay area. Following the publication of the first action plan in 2000, the Community Council negotiated with the County Council for the lease of a parcel of land adjoining the Coal Office to create a community garden that would also have a special attraction for people with poor sight. With grant aid from many sources, the Sensory Garden was created, and is now maintained by the Community Council and volunteers. The open space on the other side of the Coal Office, currently used as a public garden and picnic area, is maintained by the County Council. All three areas are owned by Pembrokeshire County Council, although the freehold for the block of three shops which back onto the Coal Office is in private ownership. The Saundersfoot Historical Society was formed in 2000 and by 2014 has a membership of over 60 people. It has organised a number of very successful exhibitions and amassed a great deal of import information and artefacts which it would like to share with locals and visitors. The deteriorating condition of the Coal Office together with its potential as a more significant community resource, led the Community Council, the Historical Society and others to argue for many years for it to be upgraded and used more effectively. Many in the community still argue that the area was given to the community by Lord Merthyr, but no evidence has been found to prove this. For many years it was in the keeping of Narberth Rural District Council (NRDC), passing to South Pembrokeshire District Council on the demise of NRDC, and then on to Pembrokeshire County Council. In 2013, following the publication of the latest Action Plan, the Saundersfoot Community Forum, the Historical Society, the Chamber for Tourism and the Community Council agreed to investigate the opportunity for the development of heritage based tourism, with the Coal Office at the centre of the ideas. Representatives from neighbouring Community Councils and historical societies, the new Harbour Commission, the County Council and the National Park were invited to a meeting and subsequently the Saundersfoot Bay Heritage Regeneration Trust (SBHRT) was formed. One of its main aims being to develop the Coal Office as a heritage centre. Members of the trust have spent much time trawling through the documents relating to the Coal Office. For example, in 1994 there was a study by South Pembrokeshire District Council that recommended that the 'Barbecue' building should become a Heritage Centre on the 'theme of mining, railway and seafaring'. There followed considerable correspondence between the Community Council and the County Council, and in 2005 the Community Council set up 'The Barbecue Working Committee' to respond to an offer from the County Council. A full survey and a detailed health and safety inspection were carried out and architectural plans were commissioned. The offer had to be declined by the Community Council, because of onerous and unrealistic terms laid down by a previous County Council director of development. Until October 2013, the Coal Office was the home of a very popular and much used Tourist Information Centre which has subsequently closed and an element of the service, with reduced hours, now operates from the library in the Regency Hall. The building is now unoccupied. SBHRT have met with a County Council officer and it became evident that the council's long term plan would be the disposal of the building for a market price. The question as far as SBHRT was concerned was 'a market price for what?' Simultaneously with the above, the new Harbour Commissioners were developing their plans for improving their harbour bases, business and facilities, including the purchase of the Jones and Teague yard. It was into this mix that the County Council offered to review and update the study by 'Powell Dobson' consultants, first undertaken in 2009. SBHRT lobbied the council and the consultants, now called the 'Urbanists', to give a higher focus to the heritage of the area than in the original study. As part of their brief, the County Council required the 'Urbanists' to consult with stakeholders in the area. These included the Harbour Commissioners, Community Council, Chamber for Tourism, Community Forum, Historical Society, key land-owners and SBHRT. Two workshops were organised with the above stakeholders and The Urbanists. Subsequent to the first workshop, the Harbour Commissioners submitted their detailed plans and SBHRT were invited to produce a long term 'vision' document. The consultant's report was recently discussed at the second meeting with the stakeholder group. There was considerable criticism of proposals which seemed to replace the Sensory Garden, the Coal Office and the picnic lawn with a car park and to develop a new area which included a promenade, flexible structures for mixed/retail use and a Sensory Walk nearer to the beach. The consultants promised to re-look at this before drawing up their final plans. None of the specific SBHRT ideas were included in the proposals, although the need for improved heritage interpretation was acknowledged. The members of SBHRT have realised that considerable money will be needed to acquire the building, convert it and run it efficiently. The group have spent considerable time and energy exploring different ways in which funding could be raised, including making two unsuccessful bids to the Coastal Community Fund, discussions with the Heritage Lottery Fund and looking at how communities in other places have raised money for their own projects. SBHRT have visited Cardigan where Menter Aberteifi has promoted a Community Loan Scheme that raised tens of thousands of pounds to purchase what are seen as community assets and have also visited Hermon to hear from Cris Tomos, who is a key initiator of the Cardigan scheme and a similar scheme which previously raised money to buy and run the old school in Hermon. It is planned that a presentation will be given about this method of fund-raising at the AGM of Saundersfoot Community Forum which is to be held at the Regency Hall on September 23 at 7 pm. Local organisations will also be invited to give an update on their activities and plans. At the end of the day, it may well be that for the Coal Office to serve a useful purpose to the future prosperity of Saundersfoot, it will be up to all whom feel strongly about it to contribute money towards its purchase and running costs.

Neil Sefton, Chairman, Saundersfoot Community Forum.