Proposals to turn Tenby's North Beach Arcade into a wine bar came under fire at a meeting of Tenby Town Council on Tuesday night.
An application to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority by Serendipity Holdings seeks to alter and improve the arcade on the Duke of York Walk to use it as a wine bar.
However, a letter to the town council from Tenby Civic Society on Tuesday roundly condemned the idea.
"This application would not fit in with the amenities and character of the north cliff and beach area and would set a precedent for further applications and appeals for licensed premises along the beaches and the harbour," wrote Mr. Harry Gardiner, of the Civic Society.
"Neither the profits nor taxation from the drinks industry are being deployed to control drinkers behaviour in public areas effectively," he continued.
"Licensed premises in this location would introduce the 'drinkers culture' that is causing so much concern for the town into the North Beach area; the nuisance experienced in and around Tudor Square and Upper Frog Street would extend to The Croft, The Norton, Duke of York Walk and North Walk.
"The Council should see this as a precedent for future applications in this vicinity, for example, if the Magistrates Court is due to be vacated, it could attract a similar change of use application for a large pub," Mr. Gardiner opined.
"Licensed premises throw the worst behaved out into public areas, in this case a family friendly beach area and a place for the quiet enjoyment of superb views. The drinks trade still use glass bottles and drinking glasses; you can see the broken glass between the cobbles in every street in the walled town - do we want that along the promenade, The Norton, The Croft and the North Beach?
"Beach, cliff and harbour areas should be considered as drink free zones until the industry puts its house in order," he concluded.
Clr. Miss Lis James agreed that a wine bar would be out of keeping with the character of this area of the resort.
"I support the Civic Society's views," she said. "This would only encourage drinking in a particularly family area and I propose that we recommend that the National Park turn it down."