Local councillors want the townspeople and concerned parties to come together in a bid to battle Authorities over what they see as a lack of action in combating erosion issues on Tenby’s South Beach.

Calls have continuously been made for Pembrokeshire County Council to come to the aid of one of Tenby’s popular beaches in recent months, which has been described as a scene of ‘devastation’ by town councillors, after warning signs were placed on the beach before the summer, informing visitors to beware of exposed power cables and other trip hazards which have become prominent due to the erosion on the once ‘golden sands’ which now shows a surface of rocks and pebbles.

PCC have stated in recent times that that dredging sand from Tenby’s North beach and harbour area was not a ‘feasible solution’ to solving the sand level problems on South Beach, with the Authority’s coastal engineer Emyr Williams previously claiming that he believed the sand would return by the summer.

A spokesperson for PCC previously admitted that over recent years the South Beach has occasionally seen a noticeable decrease in sand levels, partly due to the natural fluctuations of sand levels which occurs on all beaches.

The Authority has stated that dredging sand from Tenby’s Harbour and North beach was not a feasible solution, and obtaining sand from offshore would cost millions of pounds, with there being ‘no justification’ for PCC to spend that much public money.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of Tenby town council, the Mayor, Clr. Tony Brown told his colleagues that now the summer had passed and the sand had not returned as predicted by PCC, it was time the authority did something.

“With the state our South Beach is still in, I think we need a more concerted effort to get the sand back. It’s in a bigger mess now then it was before the summer, and is a definite danger trap! Before long they will have to close the beach if it gets any worse.

“If putting the groynes back doesn’t work, then at least we’ll have tried, but as a town council, we’re the ones getting an ear-bashing, so I think the town now needs to come together to battle the county council to see some action taken and demand that something happens,” he continued, suggesting that perhaps funding could be looked at from the The Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant or another source of grant money to get matters moving.

“With the high profile Google advert recently stating ‘all roads lead to Tenby’- well the roads might literally lead onto the South Beach at this rate!” continued the Mayor.

The town clerk Andrew Davies said that costings would have to be accounted for if they were to go down the route of seeking grant funding, and he believed that PCC had already recently commissioned a survey when members of Tenby Harbour Users Association had held a meeting with representatives from the Authority in regards to the dredging licence.

Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown said that the town council shouldn’t have to put money towards it, as all the county’s beaches were the responsibility of PCC.

“The South Beach has now become too dangerous with the cables and hazards that the sand erosion has exposed. In my opinion, PCC have not put enough warning signs up either, and it has been left to the RNLI lifeguards over the summer to warn holidaymakers and children entering the beach about the hazards.

“People still went on the beach and said what a shame, but sat up the top where there is more sand, but it is definitely very dangerous for anyone heading down towards the sea,” she added.

Clr. Laurence Blackhall said that there had been a ‘substantial shift’ of sands around the resort in recent times, and that the sandbanks behind the harbour pier were now ‘exceptionally high’ and above historical levels.

“This needs to be addressed, but will be a big and expensive exercise. We also need to look at Castle sands - as there was the biggest tide of the year this weekend, and the sands still weren’t cleaned!

“We have got to the point where we need a really expert understanding of what is happening, why and what the solution is. We need a report of real expert analysis of what’s going on, that’s what’s needed, and the people who work down the harbour need to be listened to as well,” added Clr. Blackhall.