Renewed calls for a spruce-up of Tenby’s iconic Castle Hill have been made, with one councillor lambasting the Local Authority’s ‘neglect’ - leaving the once picturesque part of the seaside town - ‘fall into ruin’.

Cllr Laura Crockford raised the matter at this month’s meeting of Tenby Town Council, showing fellow members a picture slideshow of the condition of Castle Hill, stating that she was ‘infuriated’ to compare them to pictures from the 1970s which showed how well kept it was then.

“Since then, it has been subjected to decades of neglect and left to fall into ruin!” remarked Cllr Crockford.

Castle Hill Tenby
“If action is not taken now things will be irreversible. The lichen on Prince Albert will get to point where the damage to this historic monument will be beyond repair,” said Cllr Crockford (Observer pic)

“There is ivy on the Castle Walls; areas have now reverted to nature with brambles everywhere. Lamp posts look unsafe, the bases of the cannons, replaced only a few years ago, are rotting away.

“When mowed the waste is scattered. Bins have been taken away to such an extent that people are bringing their rubbish into the RNLI station to dispose of it!” she continued.

“If action is not taken now things will be irreversible. The lichen on Prince Albert will get to point where the damage to this historic monument will be beyond repair.

“Tenby is one of the most photographed towns in the country. The poor condition of Castle Hill is now visible from the Norton. I believe it’s almost at crisis point and the longer it is left the more expensive it will be to be fixed,” she stressed.

Castle Hill mess
“Tenby is one of the most photographed towns in the country. The poor condition of Castle Hill is now visible from the Norton. I believe it’s almost at crisis point and the longer it is left the more expensive it will be to be fixed,” she stressed. (Observer pic)

Cllr Laurence Blackhall agreed with the sentiment that the area had been neglected for years.

“There has been a decline in the area, with the tight local government finance contributing to this long-term neglect,” he told his colleagues.

“However, I also feel that CADW, should shoulder some responsibility. We have raised the town walls and the condition of Prince Albert in the past but they seem to be disinterested in Tenby and forcing PCC to meet their obligations.

“There is a need for action over Castle Hill but will be an incredibly expensive job. And may even require a heritage lottery grant application,” he added.

Cllr. Skyrme-Blackhall said that, unfortunately PCC did not have the finances.

Castle Hill St Catherines
Cllr Laura Crockford raised the matter at this month’s meeting of Tenby Town Council, showing fellow members a picture slideshow of the condition of Castle Hill, stating that she was ‘infuriated’ to compare them to pictures from the 1970s which showed how well kept it was then. (Observer pic)

“Perhaps we needed to look at different ways of getting work done though volunteer offers of help and suggestions,” she said, adding that she felt the town was ‘looking tired’ overall.

The clerk pointed out that there were areas of Castle Hill that were considered Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and had to have little or no maintenance.

PCC contractors had also raised safety issues over grass cutting due to the topography of the site. There were also areas where ‘re-wilding’ was being carried out to meet Welsh Government’s biodiversity policies.

Tenby's Castle Hill

It was resolved that a working group be set up, with the aim of creating a plan to try and arrest the decline and to improve Castle Hill.

The clerk suggested PCC’s Public Realm Manager Marc Owen, and Environmental Services Operational Manager Neil McCarthy should also have an input into the working group.