Work on a major housing development for Tenby - which was expected to start this month on land at Brynhir - could be delayed for some years, mainly due to issues surrounding water nitrates - a county councillor for the seaside town has stated.

In total, 125 homes will be constructed by Pembrokeshire County Council at the Brynhir site, on Old Narberth Road.

These homes will range in size and consist of 93 affordable housing (social and intermediate rent), 16 shared ownership, and 16 open market sale.

In 2018, PCC, which already owned the 15-acre Brynhir site, ‘bought’ the land for £4million using its Housing Revenue Account; with a detailed planning matters application for the scheme unanimously approved by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority last year.

Following that, last December, Pembrokeshire County Council announced a major step forward for the scheme, stating that the Local Authority was pleased to confirm the award of a ‘pre-construction service agreement’ for the development, with the firm Morgan Construction of Carmarthen appointed following the evaluation of a two-stage tender.

PCC said that work was expected to start in September 2025, with a view to the development being completed in 2029.

However, a number of planning constraints are still clearly in need of being ironed out before work can progress.

Currently, there are planning applications to discharge conditions in relation to the development’s drainage scheme, submitted to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority last month, that are waiting to be determined.

County councillor for Tenby’s North ward, Cllr Michael Williams told the Observer: “From what I can ascertain the development is unlikely to commence before late 2029, mainly due to the water quality nitrates issue which is blighting a great number of developments in West Wales.

“It represents yet another failure of both Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales.

“It appears that one organisation just doesn't communicate with the other. This water company and the so-called regulator continue to fail their customers,” continued Cllr Williams, who has in turn asked for a response from the Local Authority.

“This will be a huge blow to the many Tenby people and families who see their only hope of housing slipping yet further away,” remarked Cllr Williams.

“There must also be concerns about the timeliness of consultations between the statutory bodies which could very well result in a new planning application having to be submitted if the current issues can't be resolved within a short timescale.

“I’m sure that many will remember the concerns expressed regarding worry over the water run-off from the site when the original application was received,” he added.

Earlier this month, Tenby Civic Society submitted their views to PCNPA, on the latest planning applications for the site that have been submitted, with members outlining planning design issues that they still consider contentious.

“A series of details are being confirmed to meet the 35 planning conditions of the Brynhir scheme,” the Civic Society shared.

“We objected to the inadequate original design of the junction to Narberth Road – surely enough it has had to turn into a much wider more complicated layout to meet road safety and drainage problems.

“Narberth Road is to be widened at the junction a) to insert a new centre lane for traffic from Tenby to wait to turn into the site; b) to allow a central refuge in the road just north of the junction for pedestrians to cross to and from the new estate onto the only footpath, on the west side of Narberth Road; and c) to construct short pavements either side of the junction on the east side; d) there will also then be also strips reserved to hold drainage water from the road and slope coming down from the estate to the junction – provision to prevent new ‘flash flood’ flows across Narberth Road.

“Really wet weather has often seen water coming out of the hill and flowing across Narberth Road just down from this point.

“This is just one illustration of just how complicated it is to manage the consequences of new building; there will be others on the rest of the site, hopefully less expensive than these to solve.

“A host of existing features in the whole site are to be retained, though the extent of current greenery will be reduced somewhat – with much remaining.

“Sadly the prominent positions of the three storey flats has not altered so are likely to feature on the skyline seen from the harbour area.

“We feel an emergency access bollard between Lady Park and the site might also allow buses to pass, serving both Brynhir and Upper Hill Park, on a short detour to services in and out of Tenby,” they added.

Pembrokeshire County Council has been contacted for comment...