PEMBROKESHIRE Coast National Park Authority has been warned to reverse its decision over the Bluestone holiday village or face legal action.

At an extraordinary meeting this Friday, the authority will consider a letter from solicitors acting for the Council for National Parks, contending that the authority's decision to grant the holiday village outline consent was unlawful.

Dated March 11, the letter gives seven days for the authority to give an assurance that it will not grant consent for Bluestone. Otherwise, write the solicitors: "We will proceed to bring judicial review proceedings against your authority without further notice."

An authority spokesman said: "We are surprised to be informed that this action will be taken without further notice as we now understand that the executive committee of CNP has yet to take the decision to go for a judicial review."

Ruth Chambers, CNP head of policy, agreed that no decision on legal action had yet been taken. The 'letter before claim' had been sent as good practice, and was an invitation to the authority to reconsider its decision before any legal proceedings were issued.

She said: "CNP considers that this development would seriously harm national park purposes and that an approval would set an unwelcome precedent for this and other national parks.

"As the officers of the authority concluded, this development is in breach of the national and local policies designed to safeguard the national park. Additionally, CNP has concerns about the way in which the authority's decision was reached."

Bluestone chief exec William Mcnamara said the letter was "just one more last-minute tactic intended to threaten and pressurise Pembrokeshire Coast National Park committee and delay Bluestone."

He went on: "Ruth Chambers has admitted that no final decision has been made about judicial review which effectively means they are asking committee members to consider the application for a third time at public expense. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has publicly stated that the lengthy planning process was to ensure the application was not open to legal challenge.

"PCNP committee members approved Bluestone by a majority vote last December and emphatically ratified that decision following a four week 'cooling off' period. We are confident that these Pembrokeshire-based appointees are competent decision-makers and are very surprised that senior officers have seen fit to once again question their members by calling this meeting.

"CNP has had three months since approval in December to decide whether to take this to judicial review and are now seeking further delay. Pressure and media campaigns cost a lot less than judicial review, and if CNP loses the fight, they could face vexatious delay and costs of several hundred thousand pounds. This could leave the CNP trustees personally liable."