TENSION has been rising as the proposals to consider selling off Ammanford Town Hall and Old Library have been met with hostility from a worker’s union.

Unison joined forces with Carmarthenshire Labour Group on Saturday, August 12 for a rally and a petition campaign.

The proposal, which was brought before the council’s executive board two weeks ago and quickly adjourned, considered selling Ammanford Town Hall and Old Library as part of the Council’s Agile Working policy.

The joint petition called on Carmarthenshire County Council to keep Ammanford Town Hall and the Old Library open and retain all 67 jobs in Ammanford, engage in meaningful discussions with the trade unions and the people of Ammanford before future decisions are made and put local people first by fighting the cuts to local services.

It is believed that petition against proposals has gained over 400 online signatures and close to 2,000 paper signatures since the campaign was launched last week.

A public meeting has been set for today - Wednesday - at 7pm in Ammanford Pensioners Hall.

Carmarthenshire County Council assured the Guardian that no buildings would be disposed of without discussion and consultation.

Unison branch secretary, Mark Evans, wrote an open letter to the leader of council, Cllr Emlyn Dole stating: “We urge the Executive Board and Carmarthenshire County Council to be more open with our members and the public and be clear about your intentions and why you are making these decisions.

“We call on the Executive Board to put the community and the services we provide first by keeping Ammanford Town hall and the Old Library open; retaining all jobs in Ammanford and to make this decision public.”

Cllr Emlyn Dole briefly replied stating that the proposals are yet to be discussed with the Executive Board members.

Responding to Unison, Cllr Mair Stephens said: “If Unison would like to discuss any concerns, they are welcome to bring them to us.

“In this instance, they have already been advised that there are no current plans to dispose of these buildings, and that they would be fully involved should any staff movements be proposed at any point in the future. Therefore, we would appeal to them not to cause unnecessary concern to the staff they aim to support.”