Concerns that Tenby’s picturesque harbour has been turned into a ‘party zone’ since lockdown restrictions eased with ‘mass gatherings’ congregating and drinking into the early hours have been flagged up by local residents.

With pubs, bar, cafes and restaurants not likely to be given the go-ahead by the Welsh Government to open indoors until August 3, concerns have been raised in the community over a high volume of ‘outdoor drinking’ at the resort, with the town’s harbour attracting ‘anti-social’ behaviour into the early hours, with revellers reportedly using the area for late night summer partying.

Reports of the entrance to the ‘little church on Tenby harbour’ - St Julian’s, being used as a urinal along with other harbour buildings have also surfaced, along with additional littering of empty cans and takeaway plastic cups being left on the ground, and many groups seen to be mingling, not observing social distancing guidelines.

“We are extremely concerned about the harbour being ‘party central’ on dry, warm summer evenings,” posted one worried local on social media yesterday, who said that those living in the vicinity and within the walled town, have been kept awake into the small hours of the morning by the out of hours drinking and revelry.

“As a resident of Tenby harbour the continual noise, drinking, shouting, singing, fighting and using St Julian’s Church door as a public convenience is just not acceptable!” they continued.

“How can the residents continue to live on this beautiful harbour whilst this goes on after dark? Come on Tenby Town Council, Pembs County Council, and Dyfed Powys Police, sort it out or there will be no permanent residents left living in the iconic harbour!”

Further correspondence sent to Clr. Michael Williams, Tenby’s county councillor for the north ward raised concerns that anti-social issues were not being dealt with effectively by the police, with the correspondent stating that for three consecutive nights this week, there have been large gatherings of youths in front of the church on the harbour, turning the area into ‘party central’ with the associated noise and drunken behaviour caused by ‘copious’ amounts of supermarket bottles and takeaway alcohol served by pubs in the vicinity.

“Worst of all is the fact that the church doorway, frontage of the blue house and harbour walls, are being used as a urinal - this was witnessed by my son and granddaughters, who had to leave the harbour in disgust!” they wrote, calling for Tenby Harbour to be specifically included in the police’s Operation Lion plan to control matters, requesting that visits are made each evening during the week as well as weekends, to break up anti-social gatherings.

“I am amazed that during lockdown, when the harbour was empty and quiet, there were numerous patrols at all different times of the day and night, moving people on and issuing fines - now they are needed in this scenario, there is no one to be seen!” they added.

One harbour resident has called for further measures to ensure the safety of the town’s people and tourists alike, withsome form of curfew called for to control the matter relating to the area.

“Tenby encourages families to visit and stay and there are many holiday lets around the harbour - as a town we have worked hard in recent years to promote the town as a family/sporting resort and the recent anti-social behaviour is destroying our reputation,” they commented.

“We all must remember that there is a pandemic and it hasn’t gone away and we should be encouraging safe behaviour.”

Another resident has even called for the provision of temporary toilets to be installed around the town, at car parks and the beach and harbour areas to help cope with the influx of tourists coming into Tenby with the hospitality sector reopening.

“While locals have been preserving our beautiful town and abiding (in the majority) with the lockdown rules, the first week has shown us some of the weaknesses within the Government and local authorities’ re-opening plans - this needs urgent action as we are not yet in the summer season!” they stated in correspondence sent to local councillors.

The dangers of ‘tombstoning’ at Tenby harbour have also surfaced again, with large volumes of children and youngsters seen jumping into the water from the pier and harbour walls, an act considered dangerous because of the risk of hitting water from a height and that posed by underwater hazards such as rocks and shallow water.

Boat owners have stated in the past, that when they have to manoeuvre a vessel in and out of the harbour carrying a large crowd of passengers for example, focus is on their safety - yet youngsters still choosing to jump into the water off the pier, end up swimming around the boats, which causes big concerns for boat operators.

“We know that they’re trying to have fun but it causes big concerns for us boat operators,” said one such boat owner at a past ‘Breakwater’ event held at the harbour, to raise awareness of the dangers of the practice.

“Young people may think that boats can stop immediately but they are not like cars.

“The worst scenario is someone could clank their head against the bow of the boat, go under and connect with the propeller and it could make mince meat out of someone.

“It’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens, and everyone would have to live with something like that,” they added.

Clr. Williams who has contacted Pembrokeshire County Council’s director of development, Dr Steven Jones; and police Superintendent for Pembrokeshire Ross Evans, with the concerns raised about anti-social activity down the harbour area, remarked that recently Tenby has on occasion given the appearance of being ‘one huge beer garden’ with alcohol being consumed on the streets.

In a response to Clr. Williams, Insp Evans said that the police force were aware of the issues highlighted, and he understood the cocerns raised.

“As part of our yearly summer policing campaign Operation Lion, extra officers will be working in the town centre on foot patrol during every Friday, Saturday and Sunday late afternoon/evenings - as usual they will be tasked to patrol the town centre and the harbour area itself. We will be closely monitoring the location,” he stated.

“The change in licensing legislation, particularly regarding off-license purchasing is making this summer feel quite different with members of the public allowed to take drinks away from public houses.

“The issue of more people utilising Harbour Beach is noted. This area will be patrolled and monitored. Unless going on late at night or accompanied by clear anti-social behaviour, such as excessive noise or indeed urinating, it will be tricky to fully eliminate this.

“There are other powers we are able to utilise (e.g. dispersals) where legally possible but some of the gatherings that may have been witnessed are legal as long as distancing applies – as strange as that seems. We are closely monitoring as I said but this year will look and feel different to other summer periods for a variety of reasons.

“I can reassure you that I have personally patrolled both locations over the last week. I am seeing the challenges and change in dynamic first hand.

“Our demand levels have increased significantly across the county since the easing of measures commenced earlier this month. This goes some way to explain the change in how often certain areas may appear to be patrolled.

“We are meeting with key partners every day to discuss pinch points and emerging challenges and the multi-agency approach has been very effective to date,” continued Insp Evans.

“With regard to the Harbour Pier area, specifically anti-social use of vehicles and young people jumping into the sea, we have raised this with partners to see what reasonable and legal steps are available in the circumstances. This is currently under discussion. “This week has been extra busy due to the evening high tides and the mostly favourable weather.

“We will have to work differently this year but we will do our best to contain and minimise issues as much as possible,” added Insp Evans.

Pembrokeshire's Chief Inspector Louise Harries also said that she’d held ‘really helpful’ discussions with Tenby’s Mayor on Friday and local residents, to seek to address concerns regarding anti-social behaviour

“We will work with partners and communities to address issues.

“I ask people to report concerns online or using the 101 and 999 numbers so we can respond appropriately. Our Tenby Neighbourhood Policing Tean are keen to engage and support.

“Treat Tenby kindly if you visit,” she added.

Following the meeting with the police, Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sam Skyrme-Blackhall said: “We are pleased that there is a greater police presence as a result. The police are designing microbeats to make sure that areas of concern are covered.

“It just goes to show that we can rise to the challenge when we all work together.

“One of the features of the last couple of weeks has been how all organisations (led by PCC) have worked closely together and we will continue to do this for the good of the town.”