Sir,

Two articles appeared on the front page of the Observer last week - the Avenue Centre and Allen’s View, - in both of which Tenby Civic Society is involved and in both of which the society has invested a great deal of time and effort. It is unfortunate they appeared together as it might give the misleading impression that the society is only messing about with gardens when there are more important problems for Tenby and district residents and their vulnerable dependents. So, as chair, I need to set the record straight.

First the easy one... For the reasons set out in the article we need to maintain Allen’s View for public access. Leaving it as it is, is not an option, if only for Health and Safety reasons. In these winter storms we have already lost one tree. If that had fallen on a visitor we would be in court, the garden would be closed to visitors and the society finished. We have no choice but to spend our scarce resources on it. In recent years £1500 pa. and more in the coming years just to keep it as it is.

The trees are past maturity and some will need to be felled and replace. So, a big thank you to all those who have already contributed to our appeal and, please, keep the contributions coming no matter how small.

Allen’s View is a problem which is immediate and doable in a relatively short time. On the other hand, the Greenhill site and the Avenue Centre of which it is a part, is a big problem, complex, with lots of different activities on the site involving many interested parties and a solution will not be quick or easy.

Tenby Civic Society a short time ago publicised a paper on a possible community organisation taking responsibility for the whole site. That paper was well received by Tenby Town Council, various voluntary organisations and at a recent meeting, by officers from Pembrokeshire County Council. They have stated they are prepared to listen to proposals and we will now have access to financial records to construct a cost base for any plans. We are currently researching funding options.

The next, and most important, stage is to canvass opinion from every Tenby resident to find out what services each of them want to see at the Greenhill site. That includes not only the Avenue Centre, Tenby Library, the Community Learning Centre, the Youth Centre, but also what other activities are needed and which people feel Tenby lacks at the moment.

A questionnaire is currently being prepared to be trialled and sent out early in the New Year. After that we need to do a feasibility study on which results from our survey are doable. This will take perhaps until late Spring.

For the survey to reflect everyone’s view, we need a little time and honest views, opinions and constructive suggestions on what the Greenhill site can do for Tenby.

Tudor Thomas,

Chair,

Tenby Civic Society.