Sir, I am sad to report that this week I have witnessed another three loads of Tenby's fine architectural fabric consigned to skips - Georgian skirtings, architraves, reeded fireplaces, never to be replaced lathe and plaster ceilings, and the wholesale loss of internal partitions. It is something you rarely see in the cities these days, as people have got wise to the value of such things. The insides of old buildings - just like the outsides - are part of our legacy to our children; they tell us how people lived in the past and, once destroyed, this historical evidence is lost forever. Some of these buildings may be listed, and, contrary to popular belief, listing applies to the insides as well as the outsides! It is a criminal offence to demolish part of a listed building without consent. But this aside - the colourful character of the most humble unlisted cottages in those perfect terraces in and outside of the town walls is precisely what visitors hope to see in Tenby. As with sash windows, when the insides are removed, the value of property is reduced accordingly. This has been proved nationally. The removal of original plasters, renders and partitions can also jeopardise a building's weathertightness and overall structural safety, even when the elements are not specifically loadbearing. I have heard it said that this careless or ignorant damage is necessary for 'progress', or 'access', that the walls and floors are uneven, or the rooms not large enough for modern life and the houses too big. At times, owners are simply unaware of the importance of conserving the attributes of their houses. Unfortunately, and more often, these are excuses to defend the manipulation of the housing market. A house reduced to four flats will turn around a few thousand in profit. The conversion is virtually irreversible to a single house and it is impossible to recuperate the historical significance. Furthermore, there are social implications. I see in last week's Observer that more self-contained apartments in Tudor Square have been approved by the planning authorities. Tenby and the National Park need a social planning policy to review the consequences of this tendency. Please will developers, builders and property owners wake up and value what is inherent in Tenby's depleting stock of precious historic buildings. The National Park will always give the best conservation advice and that is likely to be to repair and maintain regularly and to alter thoughtfully and with care.
Murray John,
2 Olive Buildings, St. Mary's Street, Tenby.