Whitchurch Town Council relics go to highest bidder
Small pieces of history from a council building in north Shropshire could end up in homes across the country as items are sold online.
One of the flagpoles standing outside the Civic Centre in Whitchurch is the first to be put up for sale on eBay because it is no longer needed.
In the coming months desks, chairs and sanitary ware are also due to be sold and all money will go back into the town council.
The equipment has become excess to requirements after work began on a £1.6million revamp to the building.
The first phase, which is now underway, will see the facade and the foyer transformed over the next six months.
Phase two will include work on the interior and Whitchurch Town Council is currently applying for funding.
Councillor Rob Hewson, mayor of the town, said selling the surplus equipment on eBay will help to claw back funds for the town council.
He said: "It is money back into the Civic Centre, instead of throwing it away we are making the most of what we have got and putting money back into our town. We have done an inventory and what is worth money we will be selling.
"I'm not sure if everything will be sold on eBay but I should think a lot of things will be."
Other items due to be sold in the coming weeks include sanitary ware, desks and chairs.
The 19ft tall flagpole is thought to have been stood outside the building since it was built in the 1970s.
Bidding on eBay starts at £20, with an option to buy it for £30 instead of bidding, and so far no one has put in an offer but eight people are watching the bid. The auction is due to end at about 9.30pm on Sunday.
Locum town clerk Pete Cooper added: "We have no real estimation about what we'll raise, we are checking what these things are selling for.
The town council has temporarily relocated to the nearby heritage centre while the work is taking place.
