Sir, I understand from a recent BBC interview with Pembrokeshire County Council’s coastal engineer, Emyr Williams, that “The volumes of sand needed to build a decent beach here would be enormous - around ten million cubic metres.”

I have asked PCC to supply me with a copy of Mr. Williams’s study regarding this work, which led him to this conclusion, as I fear he is mistaken. Ten million cubic metres is a volume some 10km long by 100m wide by 10m high.

Tenby’s South Beach (from the Giltar headland to the cliffs at the western end of The Esplanade) is around 1.75km long, and its width (between mean low water and mean high water) is around 275m. If Mr. Williams is to be believed, his ‘decent beach’ would reach a height of 20 metres over the entire area. It should be obvious that his calculations are wildly inaccurate.

Mr. Williams also stated that a beach of this size would be ‘at enormous expense’. I agree, and I feel that a beach of these dimensions would not justify such expense. However, I feel that Pembrokeshire County Council should properly assess the work that would be required to restore a reasonable surface of sand to, at least, the northernmost end of the beach, which has been washed and blown along the shoreline to elsewhere.

Mr. Williams concluded that he could see ‘no obvious benefit’ to restoring the decent beach that has been frequented and enjoyed by tourists for 200 years, being a major draw to Tenby - which crucially depends upon tourism to support its economy.

I would suggest Mr. Williams liaise with the tourist organisation Visit Wales and properly assess the economic and environmental benefits of such work before making such statements on behalf of the council, which to my mind could be considered sweeping and ill-judged.

James Insell,

(Tenby resident)