Accessibility around Tenby for those with mobility needs and families with pushchairs has been flagged-up once again by local councillors, with calls for Pembrokeshire County Council to finally clampdown on ‘out of control’ obstructions such as A-Boards blocking the seaside town’s pavements and walkways.

At May’s meeting of Tenby Town Council, Cllr Laurence Blackhall told members that this was an ‘age-old frustration’.

“Historically focus has been within the town walls but there are wider issues across town,” he said.

“There has been a massive increase in scaffolding, whilst we have also have the age-old problem of A-Boards, where, in some parts of town, things are out of control and you can hardly move for them!

“At times, on busy weekends, the sheer volume of people makes it very difficult to move around town safely and it would be interesting to have Pembrokeshire County Council’s view.

“It would be interesting to discuss with them how many parking spaces are given over to disabled parking; how much ramping there is to get on and off pavements during pedestrianisation; how people navigate the scaffolding etc.”

He proposed that the council write to PCC asking, from an access point of view, what accessibility issues they perceived around town.

He suggested that this could be followed up with later with a presentation on what the Local Authority intends on doing about the issue.

Cllr Sam Skyrme-Blackhall said that she’s held a meeting with PCC a couple of years ago about A-Boards - but nothing has been done.

“We are going round in circles and it is not fair,” she stated.

“Pedestrianisation is a while off yet, and we already have a huge footfall. There is no need for all these A-Boards. There should be one flush to the wall per business but every year we see more and more.

“Pavements are not available for walking on and we have an ageing population who do not want to come into town because they are scared of being knocked over,” she added.

Cllr Dr Tara Carmody asked: “People comment how dog friendly Tenby is but are we wheelchair and buggy friendly? It would be interesting to take a tour and note different venues that are accessible.”

Cllr Skyrme-Blackhall explained that she and Cllr Trevor Hallett had taken a tour of town some years ago, looking at where the worst spots were for accessibility.

“It would be good to have PCC’s assessment of what they believe are the problems and challenges are,” added Cllr. Blackhall.

“We understand that we are a medieval town with narrow streets. That is part of our charm and beauty but we could be better at getting people around the town.

“There is also a connectivity issue between different parts of town. If you are on the Esplanade, you are virtually cut off from St Florence Parade if you are in a wheelchair.”

It was proposed correspondence be sent to PCC asking what the assessment of current accessibility issues is; and what proposals there are to try and improve matters.