COUNCIL plans for ‘alien’ and ‘industrial’ metal gates to prevent vehicle entry on to Tenby’s iconic harbour have been refused by the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Pembrokeshire County Council sought permission to install a swing gate that prevents unauthorised vehicle entry, but allowing pedestrians, at Tenby Harbour Yacht Station & Harbour Office, Pier Hill, Tenby, in the town’s conservation area.

The proposed gates would be sited approximately mid-way along the harbour office.

The scheme included a related listed building consent application covering the harbour ‘pier’.

The scheme was supported by Tenby Town Council but Tenby Civic Society objected due to design, operation, justification and impact on the harbour setting.

A national park officer report recommending refusal said: “Whilst consultees are generally supportive of the proposal, it is not regarded as acceptable in terms of its impact upon the special qualities of the National Park including both character and appearance of Tenby Conservation Area and the setting of listed buildings.”

It detailed the scheme: “This application is for the installation of a metal gate on Tenby Pire alongside the Harbour Office to restrict unauthorised access to the end of the pier.  The pier itself is Grade-II-listed and the site lies within Tenby Conservation Area central to the iconic harbour view.

“Due to the industrial design of the gates in what is a highly sensitive and extremely popular area, the proposal is not considered to preserve the setting of the listed pier or the character or appearance of Tenby Conservation Area.

“It therefore follows that there will be an impact on the special qualities of the National Park, that the proposal will cause visual intrusion and that it pays little regard to the sense of place and local distinctiveness.

“Whilst it is recognised that restricting access to the working pier would sustain harbour activities and may contribute to a certain extent to supporting community cohesion and health, the proposal is not considered to conserve or enhance the existing character of the harbour.”

It added: “The design and scale of the gates neither preserve or enhance the character of the area. In terms of character, the pier currently is available for users and visitors to enjoy daily except when during occasional events and operations when temporary fencing is erected. The proposed meshed metal gates are seen as intrusive in this context, quite alien to the public enjoyment of the area.

“Officers have considered the weight to be given to the desirability of restricting access to the working pier and reducing conflicts such as tombstoning activities and conflicts with boats.  Temporary fencing has currently been used to achieve this which does not require permission.”

The application was refused on the grounds it “would introduce an unacceptable visual intrusion due to the overly industrial design of the proposed gates which would not conserve or enhance the existing character of the harbour,” and would “also cause harm to the setting of a listed building”.

A CALL to expand the licensed area of a Pembrokeshire community pub, recently hailed as one of the most friendly in Britain, has been given the go-ahead by county planners.

The White Hart Inn in St Dogmaels was ranked second friendliest pub in the UK in a study by security experts Get Licensed, which looked at Tripadvisor reviews and median crime scores around each pub to find the friendliest in the UK.

The 250-year-old White Hart, on Finch Street, reopened as a community pub in 2021 following a campaign after it closed in May 2019, when the last landlords decided to refocus to other activities.

The White Hart Community Inn Ltd was formed as a Community Benefit Society and a community share offer launched with the guidance of the Wales Co-operative Centre.

Two years of fund-raising and campaigning saw enough money raised through individual community shares purchases together with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government via the Social Business Growth Fund administered by Social Investment Cymru at WCVA, alongside a grant from Pembrokeshire County Council.

White Hart Community Inn (St Dogmaels) Ltd had asked Pembrokeshire County Council for permission the expand the licensed premises through a change of use of the former manager’s accommodation, vacant since early 2022.

The application was conditionally approved by planning officers.

This is the second application for works at the White Hart recently.

An application by White Hart Community Inn (St Dogmaels) Ltd to install solar panels at the historic pub was recently granted by Pembrokeshire County Council.

That proposal was backed by St Dogmaels Community Council, which said it “fully supports the application for the installation of photovoltaic panels”.

Receiving the recent Get Licensed award, the White Hart Inn received a top score of five on Tripadvisor, and 66.67 per cent of its reviews highlighted the pub’s ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’ atmosphere.

SENEDD Members torpedoed Conservative calls to exempt yachts and other boats from plans for a £1.30 a night tourism tax in Wales.

Sam Rowlands, the Tory shadow finance secretary, introduced an amendment to the tourism tax bill to remove powers for ministers to extend the levy to berths and moorings in future.

He argued extending the bill to marinas would be unnecessarily complicated and burdensome, adding that boating is a leisure and sporting activity.

He said: “To be clear, those that provide berths and moorings are not providing visitor accommodation in any real sense. By their nature, those vessels… move around.”

Mr Rowlands told Senedd Members: “It’s quite clear that boaters have a minimal… impact on local services because they are self-contained within the berth or mooring area.”

But Senedd Members voted 3-1 against the Conservative’s proposal as the finance committee considered nearly 160 amendments to the bill.

Mike Hedges, who represents Swansea East, said: “As I tell people quite regularly, we’ve got a marina there and I can tell you now – when people come in by boat into that marina, they don’t stay in the marina… they go into the city centre and they use the services there.”

Mr Hedges said: “The council taxpayer of Swansea is covering those costs,” as he argued marinas should have been included in the bill from the outset.

His Labour colleague Mark Drakeford agreed: “It is right that [for] a yacht arriving at Swansea or Cardiff marina… the yacht owner should pay the levy just as somebody staying in a nearby hotel or the Cardiff council campsite in Pontcanna will be.”

The First Minister-turned-finance secretary said: “I can see no case in principle why those visiting in boats and yachts should find themselves not captured by the levy.”

Prof Drakeford explained: “The bill, as the [Welsh] Government presents it, doesn’t have a worked-up scheme for berths and moorings as Mike Hedges would have wished.

“But the complexity of it is real and was beyond our ability to resolve all that complexity in the bill itself. So, what the bill provides is a power to return to this issue in future when some of those practical challenges can have been more fully discussed.”

Mr Rowlands responded: “It does feel like an afterthought… for me, without the proper revision and understanding of this in the first instance, it shouldn’t be in here at all.”

If the bill completes its passage through the Welsh Parliament, £1.30 a person before VAT could be charged on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation.

A lower rate of 80p would apply to hostels and campsites, with the 22 Welsh councils given powers to decide whether to introduce a local levy from 2027 at the earliest.

The committee also rejected Tory calls for a ten-night cap on the levy as well as exemptions for educational trips, charities, members of the armed forces and veterans. A Plaid Cymru amendment to exempt all under 16s was also defeated.

But Senedd Members were able to agree other amendments, including an exemption for under-18s from the lower rate, during the “stage-two” meeting on May 15.

Prof Drakeford described the Welsh Government’s approach as more progressive and targeted, removing a large proportion of educational stays from the levy.

He said: “If you’re going to narrow the [tax] base, the only way to compensate in terms of revenue… is by raising the levy charge on those who remain within the scope.”

Members voted to raise the lower and higher rates by 5p to 80p and £1.30 respectively.

The bill now moves to the third step: consideration of amendments by the whole Senedd: before a crunch vote on the final version at stage four.