Tenby continues to struggle with accessibility for wheelchair users, with a lack of action by the Local Authority drawing criticism from locals who experience difficulties in their every day lives in getting around the seaside town.

A debate on the issue has been reignited by news that Pembrokeshire County Council is once again threatening to shut one of the public conveniences situated on Upper Frog Street which includes disabled facilities - unless the Town Council stumps up the funds once again to cover the costs of operating the facility.

Despite Tenby striving to reach ‘dementia friendly’ status in recent years, tougher action from the Local Authority to clampdown on obstacles such as A-Frames and tables and chairs causing obstructions on public pavements has seemingly gone by the wayside; whilst uneven and dangerous pavements continue to cause access issues for disabled people - with no sign of Pembrokeshire Council seeming at all interested in carrying out any improvements to rectify the poor state of public pavements and walkways, both within the walled town and on the outskirts.

Tenby resident and wheelchair user Peter Jones has shared his views on the matter, stating that ‘accessibility isn’t optional - it’s a legal requirement’

“The only fully accessible toilets in the whole of Tenby that I can actually use as a wheelchair user are these ones — so they absolutely need to remain open. I know I’m not the only one who relies on them,” he remarked.

“I still can’t understand how the council thought the disabled toilets at the multi-storey were adequate when they rebuilt it. I physically can’t even get my wheelchair all the way inside, so how they expected any disabled person to use it is beyond me.

“The Salterns are just as bad. To even access the disabled toilets there, you have to go to the Post Office first, pay a refundable deposit to get a key or card, and then go all the way down to the Salterns to use the toilet.

“As someone in a wheelchair with bladder issues, by the time I need the toilet, doing this whole process is already far too late — and that’s for someone who lives here. Imagine how impossible it is for visitors who don’t know the area!

“The disabled toilet on North Beach was completely inaccessible to me. Even if I had been able to unlock the door, the entrance was not wheelchair accessible.

“The toilet at Castle Beach was accessible but I couldn't turn my wheelchair around in it.

“We've resorted to my wife always coming out with me and emptying my bladder into a bottle, which she then takes into the toilet to empty.

“Under the Equality Act 2010, public bodies have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments and ensure disabled people are not placed at a disadvantage — including providing proper, accessible toilet facilities. What’s currently in place simply doesn’t meet that duty.

“Accessibility isn’t optional. It’s a legal requirement, and a basic level of dignity,” he added.

Another local resident, Rachel Couch, who whose mother is a wheelchair user, has also criticised a lack of action from the council.

“Tenby has failed massively for disabled people. It is not wheelchair friendly,” she remarked.

“The pavements on the outskirts are appalling. I've met with councillors, but nothing is done.”