CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn a Pembrokeshire landmark into a visitor attraction, expected to get the go-ahead last Wednesday, were pole-axed by a “lamentable” failure by two statutory consultees to respond.

Re-submitted plans for St Catherine’s Island and its historic fort off Tenby were recommended for approval at last Wednesday 's (April 15) meeting of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s development management committee.

The planning application, by Peter Prosser of the Tenby Island Project, seeks full permission for works to restore and convert the fort into a family visitor attraction.

These include change of use of the fort to primarily an exhibition space with two new buildings for food and drink on its roof; a new build timber cabin to provide accommodation for security staff; a high-level nature walk and cameras for nature watch and safety railings and low-level illumination for the existing pathways.

With the application recommended for delegated approval, committee members heard the plans could not be discussed on the day as responses had not been received from either Natural Resources Wales (NRW) or CADW.

Ten minutes before the meeting started, NRW contacted the committee and stated The Park should speak to its own ecologist.

Hearing there was no alternative to deferment, Chairman Gwyneth Hayward said: “I find this lamentable, after all the work that has been put in by the applicant and the officers, and we are reduced to receiving such a report 10 minutes before the meeting.

“I feel very sad for all the people involved in putting this application together, who have worked so hard. We have no choice but to defer.”

Local member Mike Williams said: “They’ve taken since February 7 to come to that conclusion, I think that’s absolutely appalling.”

Vice-chair Rob Lewis said: “Due to a lack of information by two statutory consultees we are in the unfortunate position of having to defer to the next meeting.”

He later added: “Statutory consultees are impacting on a possible economic development; we could’ve come to a consideration today.”

Councillor Bob Kilmister said: “This is unacceptable, it has put us in a really invidious position and we can’t go ahead.

“If we did this sort of thing we would be quite rightly criticised from the rooftops.”

Members agreed to defer the application to the next meeting, and to raise their concerns with Minister for Natural Resources Carl Sargeant AM.

The application was initially rejected by National Park planners in 2013, and the subsequent appeal was dismissed by a planning inspector after a three-day hearing last year.

The dismissal was on technical issues regarding bat surveys, and with these completed, Mr Prosser had put in his plans again for the development.