‘Please be respectful’ when enjoying ‘glorious Tenby’ is the message from the town’s Mayor, as the seaside resort welcomes back visitors following the lifting of the travel restrictions within Wales.

With the Welsh Government’s easing of Covid lockdown beginning last Saturday (March 27) to coincide with the Easter holidays, self-contained accommodation was opened to people from the same household or support bubble; and up to six people from two different households can now meet outdoors.

With the ‘stay local’ message removed, and the warm and weather this week, Tenby’s beaches have been packed with locals, holidaymakers and day-trippers all making the most of the open spaces; but with non-essential shops still not given the go-ahead to reopen and pubs, cafes and restaurants still closed, apart from being able to sell takeaway drinks and food, those restrictions continue to present its own set of issues for a small coastal town in dealing with the ongoing pandemic.

“Of course there is some anxiety as visitors from all over Wales return to Tenby - but as a community we have worked hard to keep ourselves safe and look after each other, and we want to maintain that,” said Tenby’s Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sam Skyrme-Blackhall this week.

“Much of our economy is based on tourism, visitors and the hospitality industry and reopening is needed for our economic wellbeing. Our fabulous businesses are ready to deal with the large numbers of expected visitors.

“To our visitors I would like to say that you are welcome and you can look forward, as ever, to a great Tenby experience. But I would ask you to remember that Tenby is beautiful because we treat it and its people with respect. I ask you to do the same.

“Please observe social distancing and mask wearing when required. Use bins provided or take you rubbish with you. Be considerate to our fantastic shop staff and be patient as large visitor numbers may cause some delays.

“Essentially the message is be respectful and enjoy glorious Tenby,” she added.

Recent discussions between members of the town council saw councillors presenting their views for Pembrokeshire County Council to consider when looking at ways to facilitate the safe re-opening of the town as lockdown restrictions ease.

Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown conceded that the way things were going, businesses in the town may not fully open for a while. She told her colleagues that she felt that the town had done ‘marvellously’ over the last 12 months and looking ahead to the summer, she suggested that PCC could reward Tenby’s businesses, particularly those in hospitality, by starting the pedestrianisation scheme earlier this year, perhaps using a temporary traffic order.

The town clerk said that he was aware that this may be raised and so had spoken to PCC’s Head of Infrastructure, Transport and Environment, Darren Thomas who had given an extensive reason behind not being able to grant an extension to the Road Traffic Order including the fact that a full consultation would be needed with all residents which would not be possible due to time constraints.

Although residents accepted the current pedestrianisation period, they have been historically opposed to any extension, with Mr. Thomas feeling that this would still be the case.

Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane said she understood the reasoning for the introduction of the barriers in the parking bays during last summer, in that they create more space for social distancing, but she felt that they did not look very good, and as this had been seen as a very quick fix solution introduced by PCC, it was suggested that perhaps there could be a more attractive option looked at this year.

Clr. Mike Evans agreed that the red and white blocks were not pretty, but it worked last year and they could be easily removed if no longer needed. He added that he hoped that PCC would consult with the residents and business owners in Tudor Square before any implementation this year.

He believed that it only worked last year when PCC also had controls at White Lion Corner and felt it was very important, if blocking off bays, that this was in place.

He said that perhaps there could be ‘Town Ambassadors’ introduced again, welcoming people to Tenby but giving information, explaining that between 10 am and 4 pm there were access only restrictions in place for the pedestrianisation scheme, with motorists directed to car parks in a pleasant and welcoming manner.

The Mayor said that last year, the ‘Town Ambassadors’ were PCC staff redeployed from other roles that had been closed due to Covid-19 such as leisure centre staff.

PCC may not have this option this year if leisure centres etc re-open and they were looking to see if any funding was available from the Welsh Government for the reintroduction of the ambassador teams to fulfil the same role this year.

Clr. Evans went on to agree that Covid signage was needed but it did not need to be ‘negative’. We all know about keeping your distance he said, adding that the signage should be about asking people to respect visitors and residents, to respect that this is a living working town and that we all need patience.

He felt that PCC had worked hard and should be thanked for all their efforts and the spirit of co-operation with the town council.

Clr. Evans also suggested that consideration also needed to be given to extending the park and ride service from The Salterns as he envisaged that Whitsun would be ‘manically busy.’

“This is about safety and welcoming people to town and it is essential that park and ride starts earlier and runs from May through to September,” he told his colleagues.

Clr. Laurence Blackhall echoed Clr. Evans’ views and while he appreciated that local people may be anxious, everyone needed to be very aware that there was going to be a huge influx of visitors again now that restrictions have been lifted and the community needed to be prepared.

It was mentioned that if Caldey Island reopens this year, as they plan to do, this would be great for the community and planning was needed, working with PCC, the island and harbour communities, on how to achieve this safely. We all know how busy the harbour gets, let’s make it safe for all by being prepared.

With regard to Café Culture the town clerk said that PCC’s street care manager Marc Owen has intimated that he will possibly be allowing certain premises licences outside of the pedestrianisation scheme if there are no options for them to re-open indoors and have no outside space, and this would only occur where there was room to do it, similar to last year.