The nursery garden, tucked away behind the magistrates court and hotels on the seafront, had survived all the development in the Welsh resort.
When on a family holiday in Tenby in 1900 Beatrix Potter got a room at the back of the house with a view of the vegetable patch instead of the sea. She sketched the lines of cabbages and onions, the glasshouse and shed. In such a setting her hero Peter Rabbit takes on the combined forces of Mr McGregor and the white cat, and the threat of rabbit pie.
The land is owned by Pembrokeshire council, which says it is needed as a car park for disabled people. "We have many attractions for visitors and feel this would serve the greater good," a spokesman said.
But for Tenby council, which has leased the garden for decades, no greater good is being served. Its mayor, Sue Lane, pointed out yesterday that a main attraction for visitors was the town's spectacular floral displays. It has won the Wales in Bloom competition for eight years and made it to the finals of Britain in Bloom last year. All the bedding plants for the displays are grown in the little garden.
"If we lose this we couldn't possibly buy the plants, and I don't know where we could get any other suitable land," said Ms Lane.
The garden is one of several in Wales and Somerset claiming to be the inspiration for Mr McGregor's patch. Judy Taylor, writer on Beatrix Potter, said: "There is no one original garden - she herself made that clear. But Tenby's does have a good case - people in the town are really up in arms."
A decision will be taken next week by the Welsh coast national park authority.
