Following the meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee on Thursday July 9 to review the premises licence of the Tenby Summer Spectacular events, Pembrokeshire County Council committee members have now released their decision.
After considering all the evidence, the Sub-Committee concluded that the licensing objectives were not being adequately met leaving significant concerns regarding crowd safety, emergency access and the protection of children from harm.
The Sub-Committee decision is therefore to revoke the premises licence.
Cllr Aaron Carey, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Licensing Service, said: “Neither I nor Pembrokeshire County Council take any satisfaction whatsoever from this decision and I know this will be very disappointing news for the organisers, volunteers, charities and many people who value the Tenby Summer Spectacular.
“The Sub-Committee also recognises the longstanding charitable contribution of the event, its importance to the local economy and the significant funds it raises for local good causes.
“However, committee members concluded that public safety must always be the overriding consideration.
“The Sub-Committee reached its decision after considering all of the evidence including submissions from Dyfed-Powys Police, the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Council officers and the event organisers.
“The concerns expressed from Dyfed-Powys Police were extremely powerful.
“The Welsh Ambulance Services Trust raised significant concerns regarding emergency medical access to and within the event.
“Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service detailed concerns about crowd numbers, uncontrolled attendance and access for emergency services.
“There were significant concerns from agencies that, due to the size and popularity of the event, it had outgrown its current setting.
“Public safety has to be paramount, particularly where an event involves large crowds in a working harbour environment and affects surrounding public spaces.
“However, the evidence presented by the Tenby Round Table was not sufficient to satisfy the Committee that the licensing objectives relating to public safety and the protection of children from harm could be adequately promoted.
“Throughout this process officers from all the agencies involved in the licensing review had met with the event organisers on a number of occasions and had hoped to reach a position whereby the concerns raised could be effectively mitigated.
“With the event having been cancelled by Tenby Round Table for 2026, all agencies involved in the review have made clear their willingness to continue working constructively with the organisers to address the issues identified.
“The Tenby Summer Spectacular has been a much-loved event for many years, raising significant sums for local charities and bringing considerable benefits to the town and wider county. There is a shared desire to see those benefits continue in the future.
“Pembrokeshire County Council, together with our partner agencies, remains committed to working with the organisers to explore how to deliver a sustainable and properly managed event in the future and stand ready to support discussions aimed at bringing this much-valued event back to Tenby in a way that satisfies the necessary safety and licensing requirements.”
A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesman added: “Dyfed-Powys Police has been informed of the licensing sub-committee's decision to revoke the licence for the Tenby Summer Spectacular.
“We recognise the great fundraising work done by the Tenby Round Table and the importance of the event locally.
“After reviewing the event in its current format, we raised concerns surrounding public safety, protection of children from harm and the prevention of crime and disorder.
“Keeping our communities safe must be our priority and we remain committed to working with them to hold a safe event in the future.”
The Licensing Sub-Committee hearing on the application for review of the Tenby Summer Spectacular premises licence was held on Thursday, July 9.
It can be viewed at: https://pembrokeshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
The two Summer Spectaculars hosted by Tenby Round Table, were due to be held this year on August 16 and 30.
Following the decision by PCC, Tenby Round Tablers issued the following statement: “While we do not agree with the decision, we respect the Sub-Committee's role and its overriding concern for the safety of those attending the events. Public safety is, and always has been, paramount to us and it was the reason we initially raised these concerns with PCC and Dyfed-Powys Police following the 2025 events.
“Our position has been, and remains, that safe control of access to the harbour is fundamental to the safety of those attending the event. The management of crowd movement is at the heart of the police's appeal against this licence. We believe that this control, when combined with road closures and the other measures we had already put in place, would have allowed these vital fundraising events to continue safely.
“We have repeatedly highlighted to PCC's Public Realm department the legal framework that is available to enable this to happen. They have repeatedly responded that this is not possible, despite the same legislation being used in Tenby for other large events specifically to control crowd movement on public footpaths.
“Despite seeking independent legal counsel’s advice, our highlighting of this point again before the Sub-Committee resulted in the hearing being suspended so that they could once more review their position on a matter we had been told was already decided.
“We continue to believe that the Summer Spectaculars can be run safely and successfully in Tenby Harbour, as they have been for almost 40 years. We were prepared to accept amendments to our licence to make this possible and to adapt the event to ensure it remains viable in the changing world we live in. We were happy to review crowd numbers, security, medical provision and road closures.
“All we needed in return was the ability to control the number of people accessing the harbour and beach so that we could be confident of everyone’s safety.
“While we welcome PCC’s comments in their press release about their willingness to work with us on future events, we must highlight their clear view in the sub-committee hearing was that any future event will not be taking place in Tenby Harbour.
“The offer to ‘continue working constructively’ is a welcome one, which we wish had been apparent throughout this process. This has never been about raising more money or shifting liability. It has always been about our ability to host these fundraising events safely for our community and its visitors as we alone bear the responsibility for those attending.
“We wish that PCC's Public Realm department had been prepared to work with us to make that happen.
“However, as a group of volunteers who have already devoted hundreds of hours to fighting for these events this year alone, we feel we must now draw a line under the Summer Spectaculars in Tenby Harbour.
“One comment from the Sub-Committee has stayed with us: "I think you're just too good at the job."
“We simply wish we had been given the support to continue doing it.
“Thank you all for your support of these events over the decades. The hundreds of thousands of pounds that you have helped Tenby Round Table raise have been invaluable to so many local charities and good causes.
“We hope you cherish the memories as much as we have loved creating them.”
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