A COMMUNITY meeting to fight the planned auction of the Pembroke Dock Front Street Gun Tower is to be held next week.

Pembroke Dock’s Front Street Tower is being placed up for auction by Pembrokeshire County Council, despite hopes the Victorian military tower may be used by a community group.

The Pembroke Dock Town Team has organised next week's meeting so people can come together and create a plan and potentially return the tower to public use.

A spokesman for the Town Team said: "The town is organising the event because the Front Street Gun Tower has been put up for auction.

"This building is of huge importance to the town and it should not be sold to the private market.

"Anyone with views or who can help please come along."

Pembroke Dock County Councillor Josh Beynon said: "It is disappointing that the tower is going up for auction.

"The history and heritage of Pembroke Dock is of huge importance to the town.

"I don't like the fact that the tower is going up for auction, but we can't just say we don't like it, we need to come up with a plan.

"I would encourage everyone to come along to the meeting, to come together to find a way to save the tower for the town.

"It is really important that as many people as possible come because we need to show the county council that there is a real will to save it and open it back up for public use - whatever that may be."

The community meeting will be held on Monday, June 10, at 6pm in St Johns Community Hall.

The county council has previously said they are prepared to listen to any community group that wants to make a proposal about the building.

A spokesman for Pembrokeshire County Council said: "The county council can confirm that the Martello Tower at Front Street, Pembroke Dock, it is to be sold unless a viable and sustainable offer is received from the community.

"We are still prepared to listen to any community group that wants to make such a proposal."

Though the tower and another fortification on Fort Road are known as Martello towers, they are actually Cambridge Gun Towers.

The two towers were constructed to the west and east sides of the dockyard and are dated to 1851.