Sir,

As you know we have run premises in Tenby town centre for many years and are concerned that the actions of Pembrokeshire County Council are harming the town centre, particularly out of season.

This winter it has been noticeable that there have been more shops vacant and/or closed for the winter than at any other time in my living memory. Clearly there is a recession on, but my impression is that there is a disproportionate number of shops which are vacant and others closed for the winter as compared with previous years.

The business rates regime, whilst a matter for the Welsh Assembly rather than Pembrokeshire County Council, is encouraging traders to close in the winter to claim vacant rates relief because rates are so high and it is no longer viable to 'tick over' during the off-season period.

Perhaps more significantly, we believe that Pembrokeshire County Council should do more to encourage residents and off-season visitors to come into Tenby town centre to shop, to enjoy the restaurants and catering establishments.

The county council's approach to the provision of parking in the town centre out of season and its aggressive enforcement of parking restrictions at that time of the year discourage shoppers and steer them to other places, notably out-of-town locations, where parking is easy.

The number of vacancies and off-season closures of commercial premises in the town centre is, we believe, a direct result of a deliberate policy to reduce the number of parking spaces, even in the off-season period, and by a wholly unnecessarily hostile policy towards parking enforcement at this time of the year.

We would invite the Pembrokeshire County Council to review parking provisions and to carry out a health check to consider measures to give Tenby's commerical shopping centre a shot in the arm, particularly in the off-season period.

One of the attractions of Tenby over the years is that it does not close down in winter like so many seaside resorts. Our fear is that it is heading in that direction and that in turn will be to the detriment of residents, visitors and businesses in the long term.

Frank Booth,

Serendipity Holdings,

Tenby.