CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Tenby’s last piece of green space are fundraising for professional services to challenge Pembrokeshire County Council’s controversial plan for 144 houses on the site.

On Monday September 2, the land at Brynhir above the resort is due to have a site visit from members of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s development management committee.

Over 100 social housing properties are included in the outline planning application – with all matters reserved, including the final layout of the properties and roads.

In July, the committee was recommended by officers to opt for a site meeting because the application is a major development and in the public interest.

The views of the inspection committee will be taken into account when the plan is next aired at the committee meeting of September 11.

The Tenby Green Space Preservation Society has dubbed the proposed development a ‘monstrosity’.

It says the build would rob the town of its last remaining open space and put huge pressure on schools, health services and traffic management.

Through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, it aims to raise £1,000 to access planning law guidance “to fight for the right legacy of this field for future generations of locals and visitors to enjoy”.

Last year, Pembrokeshire County Council, which already owned the 15-acre site ‘bought’ the land for £4million using its Housing Revenue Account.

The protestors fear that 102 affordable houses will not cover the costs of setting up the infrastructure.

They are concerned that if the outline planning application is given the go-ahead, the layout of the site could well change to make it profitable and the affordable element would be reduced.

Said the campaigners: “We will lose any chance of saving this tiny corner of Tenby, where you can escape the hustle and bustle of our award-winning town, just so PCC can make a return on their asset.

“In a time when PCC have declared a Climate Crisis we all know that we should be thinking of entirely new ways to try to protect our environment, not concrete over it with such poorly-designed houses that are a blot on our beautiful landscape.”

As well as the 102 social housing properties, the plans show 34 open market and eight shared-ownership residential units.

A mixture of bungalows, two-storey semi-detached properties, executive houses, one and two-bedroomed flats and three-storey flat buildings are featured.