Members of Tenby Town Council are seeking a meeting in the New Year with Pembrokeshire County Council’s cabinet member for housing, to consider a ‘local housing needs’ policy for the Brynhir development.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority approved outline planning permission for housing on the Brynhir site in Tenby last year, with the application submitted by PCC set to see the construction of 144 new homes, with the majority of the site set to provide social housing for the community.

At a recent remote meeting of the town council, Clr. Mike Evans told his fellow members that following on the success of the new Hafalnod housing development to the rear of the town’s Knowling Mead, it was never too early to start looking at ensuring the same local letting policy applied to the affordable housing provision proposed for Brynhir.

“Within our local community there will be applicants who may be unsuccessful in securing homes at Hafalnod - we as a town council can help offer them a vision that there will be a house for them in Tenby in the future,” stated Clr. Evans.

He felt that the town council should make PCC ‘stand up’ and give assurance that there will be the same access for locals within the Brynhir development as has been achieved alongside Knowling Mead.

“Brynhir will be the biggest local housing development in Tenby for the next 20 to 30 years and we will be unlikely to see another like it in our lifetimes, and the town council must be proactive and secure a local letting policy to deliver these properties to local people,” continued Clr. Evans

Clr. Laurence Blackhall felt that the interest in Hafalnod would really strengthen the town council’s position, and that they must encourage applications.

“We want Knowling Mead Hafalnod to be fantastically oversubscribed so that this reinforces the need for local houses for local people,” he remarked.

The town clerk told councillors that they had, on several occasion, asked Clr. Mrs. Michelle Bateman PCC’s cabinet member for housing for a meeting on Brynhir but have never had a reply, stating that the town council had enjoyed an ‘excellent’ working relationship with previous housing cabinet member Clr. Mrs. Pat Davies, and were hoping to foster a similar relationship with Clr. Mrs Bateman.

Clr. Evans told members that Clr. Mrs. Bateman was an excellent councillor but was currently inundated with work as PCC look to build more affordable ‘council’ houses around the county.

The Mayor of Tenby, Clr. Mrs. Sam Skyrme-Blackhall said she felt that this was very important for the future of the town, and that the response for Hafalnod had been fantastic and that the town council must carry this impetus forward to Brynhir.