Draft byelaws for adopting the regulation of ‘horse-drawn omnibuses’ in Pembrokeshire have been put to members of Tenby Town Council.

The licensing regime for horse-drawn carriages provides the mechanism for Pembrokeshire County Council to make byelaws to regulate the operation of horse-drawn omnibus services, with the only horse-drawn carriage currently operating in the county being in Tenby.

The drivers and conductors of horse-drawn carriages will be required to apply to the Licensing Authority for a licence, who will need to be satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold an omnibus driver’s licence.

Details of the criteria for applying for a licence and the byelaws to regulate such a service which have been released for consultation, were welcomed by Tenby councillors at their meeting on Tuesday night.

Clr. Trevor Hallett gave his support to the byelaw proposals and said that it was ‘long overdue’, although they would still like clarification on what the operators ‘can and can’t do’.

Clr. Laurence Blackhall said that this was a ‘huge opportunity’ to tie down how such a service operates within the town

“We welcome and support this and are very glad to see in Tenby that such a byelaw can be drawn together,” he commented.

“One thing, once such a licence is in place, what flexibility will there be to ask that the operator does not work on certain days that might clash with other events in the town, and how will that be enforced?

“We would now very much welcome the next byelaw from PCC to eradicate illegal street trading in Tenby, and would also ask for a meeting on that once these consultations are out of the way,” he added.

The last date for comments to be submitted to PCC on the horse-drawn carriage byelaws is March 29.