Following the summer season in Tenby, the town's police chief, Inspector Les Clark, has once again reiterated that from a crime and disorder standpoint street traders do not cause his constabulary a problem.
"I must reiterate that my policing priorities are to tackle violent crime, anti-social behaviour and burglary," said Insp. Clark. "I do not believe the public of Tenby would thank me for directing valuable police time into chasing hair braiders and other harmless individuals round the town.
"When also taking into account that during the summer many shops and pubs place tables and chairs on the highway and pavements, any action against a hair braider for obstruction would be unreasonable in the circumstances.
"Having said that, from time to time during the summer there have been some instances of pedestrian congestion within the Five Arches, and in an effort to combat this, officers tried to limit the number of hair braiders operating at this particular spot, a policy which for the most part proved successful," continued Insp. Clark.
However, when discussing Insp. Clark's report at Tuesday evening's meeting of the town council, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane didn't think that street traders and shop or pub owners should be compared.
"You can't compare the two when it comes to giving examples of setting up tables on a pavement during pedestrianisation, as businesses in the town have a licence to do what they are doing and pay rates to be able to do that," she commented. "Also the obstruction caused at the Five Arches during the summer is a disgrace," added Clr. Mrs. Lane.
Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas thought that the congestion the street traders were causing around the Five Arches area spoilt an important part of the town. "The Five Arches area is one of the most photographed places in the town and one of Tenby's most beautiful landmarks, but all the congestion that these street traders cause there makes it look tatty," said Clr. Mrs. Thomas. Clr. Mike Evans revealed that inspectors for Pembrokeshire County Council had carried out checks within the town and had found no breaches in street trading laws.
Councillors agreed that they should look to a national body, like National Parks or the Welsh Assembly, to see if there was anything that could be done to prevent the traders from gathering in one area.
Insp. Clark also revealed in his report that after visiting the clerk to the town council's office on August 15, he was surprised to see that not a single complaint about unlawful trading had been logged.