“We have got four weeks to stop it” – that was the message from a Pembroke Dock community meeting to fight county council plans to sell the Front Street Gun Tower.
Forty-eight people – from the young to the elderly - turned up to give their views on how to fight the plans.
The tower was listed on property website Zoopla earlier this week, with a guide price of £70,000.
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.”
He added: “[When the tower is pulled from auction] then we have got to work on a business plan, one that has to be sustainable like the council want.
“I think with the right lobbying, we can do this.”
One young boy told the meeting that he felt part of the history of Pembroke Dock was being sold off, which received a round of applause.
He suggested petitioning the council to change their minds.
Another member of the public suggested supporting the lobbying by asking local schools to write to the council.
There was a mixture of opinions on whether the building should be purchased or whether they could attempt to lease the property from the council.
Brian King from the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society said the council had seen value in leasing the Dockyard to his group.
Mark Carter, chair of the Pembroke Dock Town Team, listed other options, including the possibility of purchasing the building as a community.
It was agreed that the auction needed to be stopped before any decisions could be made about the building.
Summing up the meeting, Mr Carter said: "The people of Pembroke Dock do not want to see another asset sold off and we are going to do everything we can to make sure it is there for the community in the future.
"Too much of our heritage is left standing empty when it should be used.
"We have got to lobby them to get us more time. The time they have given us is ridiculous."
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