A call to allow a south Pembrokeshire dinosaur park attraction to keep some of its facilities running has been given the thumbs-up by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council planners, Simon Meyrick of The Dinosaur Park, Gumfreston sought a certificate of lawfulness to keep three operational buildings at the park, a tourist attraction near Tenby which first opened in the mid-90s.

The certificate relates to three building at the park: a Covered Eating Area, a ‘Dinos Fun House,’ and an ‘Arachno Web’.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to stay at a development if they can provide proof of occupancy or use over a prolonged period, normally in excess of four years.

A supporting statement, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, said each building had been continuously operated since at least April 2020, a period of more than four years, for the purposes of seeking the certificate of lawfulness under the ‘four year rule’.

It added: “The covered eating area has been present almost since the opening of the Park in 1994; completion would therefore have been in 1995 / 1996 when it was used as an amphitheatre and home to puppet shows and fossil hunts.  Over the last 3 / 4 years the same structure has been re-purposed to form a covered eating area reflecting a changing set of priorities, firstly to act as protection from rain and sun reflecting climate change and secondly, to provide more space for families to sit in a more open environment while variations of Covid are still present.”

It said the ‘Arachno Web’ was issued with a Certificate of Conformation (European Rope Course Association) in July 2018, and the ‘Dino Fun House’ was constructed at the beginning of 2020 after the required timber had been delivered by Farmplus in November 2019.

“Whilst there is a history of planning consents relating to the establishment of the Dinosaur Park and its development over recent years, no specific consents have been sought or granted for either the Covered Seating Area, the Dinos Fun House or the Arachno Web.  This application seeks to remedy the lack of those specific consents,” the statement added.

A report by officers, granting the certificate, stated: “It is considered that based on the evidence available, on the balance of probability, that the buildings / structure edged red have been in operational use for a period in excess of four years preceding the date of the application for this Ccertificate, and is subsequently immune from enforcement action.”