Tenby Chamber of Trade & Tourism

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 19^th March 2008

Apologies

Marion Davies

Members present

Janet Evans, Mark Colley, Sharon Knox, Judy Courie, Chris Osborne, Mike Thorne, Elaine Rowe

Pembrokeshire Business network

A presentation was given by Gordon Barry (Narberth), Paul Woolman (St Brides Bay), and Sherrill Percy (PLANED).

Over the last year PLANED has been working to support area business groups and networks within Pembrokeshire encouraging networking, inter-trading and development of the area as a whole. This work has focused on supporting existing local chambers of trade and facilitating the establishment of new area business groups where there was no existing structure.

A key outcome has been the establishment of the Pembrokeshire Business Network (PBN) – a county wide network of local business groups committed to the development of their local economies. This network will now function as an independent county wide business network with the following objectives:-

* to improve the effectiveness of local chambers of trade and local business groups by sharing

  best practice across the membership of the organisation.

* actively to support such chambers and groups

* to develop and to collaborate with the development of initiatives which support local business

  and enterprise

* to represent the interests of the organisation to all other parties and at all levels.

PBN will link existing chambers and business groups and will work closely with agencies such as PLANED and Pembrokeshire Business Initiative (PBI)

The next PBN meeting will be held on Thursday 17^th April at 8pm at Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth when the guest speaker will be Ann Beynon, director of B.T.in Wales - this will be an excellent opportunity to look at how broadband can build your business and understand the implications of future technology.. as well as how the "not spots" issue is being tackled.

For more information visit www.pembrokeshire-business.net also www.pembrokeshiredirectory.com and www.mypembrokeshire.co.uk

The Chamber will forward its subscription after the AGM.

Matters Arising

Website

Visits to the site in February were 1257. CO is meeting with Web Adept and the hosting fee of £120+vat is now due.

Tenby Events/Noticeboards

Tenby Rotary Club has withdrawn their support.

Annual General Meeting

An advert will be placed in the Tenby Observer for Wednesday 16^th April at 7.30pm at The Fourcroft.

Local Development Plan (up to 2021) (LDP)

This will replace the Joint Unitary Development Plan (up to 2016) (JUDP). The JUDP was a joint plan between Pembrokeshire County Council(PCC) and Pembrokeshire Coast National

 

Park(PCNP); both agencies will produce their own LDP. PCNP has now produced their plan, see report below.

 

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN – PREFERRED STRATEGY 2008

 

This brief report is a summary of the PCNPA’s published Preferred Strategy 2008 for their new Local Development Plan (LDP). This report focuses on Tenby, and omits to mention the routine policy statements that will obviously appear in a document of this type, such as protection of the special landscape.

 

The LDP will eventually replace the JUDP, which was adopted in 2006, and its time horizon is 5 further years into the future – 2021 rather than the 2016 end-date for the JUDP. The LDP is meant to be a slimmer document, and the process of preparing it should involve more public participation, and be quicker through the Public Inquiry part of the process. The PCNPA and PCC are each producing their own LDP for their areas, so no joint Plan this time, though of course there has to be close liaison.

 

This Preferred Strategy is the second key stage of the new LDP process, and comments should be made by 7^th April. The first stage was in October 2006 with the publication of the Delivery Agreement (setting out the timetable and the proposals for public involvement) and the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report. The PCNPA in January this year invited landowners and others to submit ‘Candidate Sites’ for development, and those are currently being assessed. The Preferred Strategy does not include site-specific allocations, but lists in appendices sites that appear to the PCNPA to be in accordance with the strategy, and others that are not. The next stage in the LDP process will be to consider all the responses to the Preferred Strategy and publish a Deposit Draft Plan in Spring 2009.

 

The Preferred Strategy starts by identifying key problems to be addressed: Climate change, seasonality in the visitor economy, the backlog of affordable housing need and emerging need. It acknowledges that not all the Park’s needs can be met within its area. It is also noteworthy that WAG’s Wales Spatial Plan proposes that investment in Pembrokeshire should be concentrated around the Haven (Haverfordwest, Milford Haven/ Neyland, and Pembroke/ Pembroke Dock), and around Fishguard/ Goodwick, all of which lie outside the National Park.

 

 

The key outcomes to be sought by the National Park’s LDP are:

§         Development to sustain local communities (employment & affordable housing). Total of 1160 dwellings, of which 365 (30%) to be affordable.

§         No new major development unless exceptional circumstances

§         Contribute to national targets for renewable energy

§         Avoid development of coastline at risk

Affordable housing to be secured through negotiations on sites of 2 or more units, seeking 50% affordable. May also allocate land for 100% affordable housing on some small sites of 10 dwellings or less.

 

 

At Tenby, 2.27 hectares of land currently has planning permission for new housing. A further 10.71 hectares is considered suitable. Total number of new dwellings: 437.

 

 

 

No new major developments in the National Park, which means resisting:

• New mineral workings, or extensions to existing.
• Intensification or extensions to MOD sites.
• Road improvements
• Marina developments.

 

Flooding and Coastal Inundation:

• Development will be directed away from areas at risk unless there are sound social or economic justifications.
• Sustainable defence of the coast will be permitted to protect existing communities or assets where practicable and where they do not jeopardise the longer term and natural evolution of the coast or Natura 2000 sites.

Note that Tenby’s South Beach has been designated for ‘Minimal Intervention’ in the Shoreline Management Plan published by the Carmarthen Bay Coastal Engineering Group.

 

Visitor Economy and Employment:

• No new camping or caravanning
• Protect against loss of hotels and guesthouses.
• Prioritising affordable housing over holiday accommodation.
• Visitor attractions generally not to be in countryside.
• Shore-based facilities only in developed centres.

 

Retailing: Non-retail development in Tenby Town Centre to be resisted.

 

Sites for Development in Tenby considered provisionally to be compatible with the Preferred Strategy (though not yet formally allocated):

• Housing.                     Rectory Car Park                  0.94ha            27 units.
• Housing.                     Brynhir                                    5.60ha            168 units
• Housing                      Former Cottage Hospital     0.17ha            10 units
• Housing                      West of Narberth Road        1.01ha            25 units
• Housing                      Butts Field Car Park             1.91ha            80 units
• Housing                      Reservoir Site                       1.07ha            12 units
• Employment               The Salterns                          0.75ha

[It is noted that this site is at risk of flooding]                     

• Mixed                          Sergeants Lane                                            5 units
• Mixed                          White Lion St/ Deer Park                             20 units
• Mixed                          Upper Park Road                                          4 units

Total number of dwelling units on the above preferred sites:                   351 units

 

Sites around Tenby rejected as not being in accordance with the Preferred Strategy:

§         Land North of Tenby Cemetery

§         Land North of Brynhir

§         Tenby TIC

§         Picton Road

 

To view the maps go to :- www.pcnpa.org.uk - search local development plan then from the left hand menu click on preferred strategy then click appendix 7c Tourism Service centre