A PETITION calling on Pembrokeshire County Council to allow a local campaign time to put together a purchase package for one of Pembroke Dock’s iconic gun towers has been launched.

The sale of the gun tower on Front Street, with a guide price of £70,000, has been controversial, with people calling for it to stay in public hands.

The tower is due to be auctioned off on July 17.

The building is described on the Zoopla property website as: "A very rare opportunity to purchase a part of history.

"John Francis are pleased to offer for sale this offshore Trefoil-plan Gun Tower built in 1851, adding: "Being offshore, the tower offers sweeping views of the Cleddau River, Pembroke Dock, Neyland and Llanstadwell.

"This truly is a unique opportunity to purchase a part of history."

The full listing may be found here.A community meeting to discuss plans to fight the sale of the building was held on Monday, June 10, in St Johns Community Hall.

Forty-eight people – from the young to the elderly - turned up to give their views on how to fight the plans.

The most common opinion from the crowd was that one month was not enough time to develop an adequate business plan.

County Councillor Jon Harvey said: “Time is of the essence, we have got to lobby the county council to get it pulled from auction.

“I don’t think we can come up with a plan in a month.”

A change.org online petition calling for a breathing space has now been launched, with nearly 500 signed up to date.

The petition states: “The Front Street tower in Pembroke Dock is a unique piece of British history. The tower is due to be auctioned off on July 17, but the community is trying to put together a community ownership bid.

“The aim of this petition is to lobby PCC to give the community sufficient time to mobilise.

“Our ideas for the tower include

“• Town / community information and displays about the history of the tower

“Educational space for learning outside the classroom

• Cinema, theatre, art and cultural events (the smallest cinema / theatre in Wales?!)

“• Venue hire

“• Observation deck

“• Supper clubs

“Unique and quirky intimate wedding venue

“• Simple catering lease – ice-creams, hot drinks, waffles

“• ‘Camp –style’ Airbnb – stay in a tower for a night!

“• Close links with and use by The VC Gallery (Pembrokeshire-based veterans charity).”