The long established and well known Auction Sales Centre in Kilgetty is set to close its doors for good next Saturday, after one final sale.

The auction house has been running under the ownership of Mr. Graham Evans for 18 years in total and has had many intrinsic and wonderful items pass through its doors over the years.

Mr. Evans, owner, auctioneer and chartered surveyor, stated: "We've sold everything here in the past 18 years, a horse drawn hearse, a Model T Ford, and a fleet of articulated lorries, to name but a few."

The Auction Centre covers a wide range of items, from specialised sales of antique and period furniture, to agricultural and industrial machinery.

The move to close the auction house has come about after Mr. Evans and his wife were granted planning permission to extend the adjoining Shillingford Park Home Scheme. The homes are intended for retired and semi-retired people and are permanent homes rather than seasonal. Plans are to build an extra 15 homes on the auction site and to attract permanent residents to the area.

All existing members of staff will be kept on to help in the diversification and development of the new business plan, so no redundancies have been handed out.

Mr. Evans's passion for auctions will not be lost, however; he will still conduct sales by public auction for both corporate and individual clients in outside venues.

The Kilgetty site itself has been the home of sales and marts since the 1920s, when the cattle mart was founded.

Mr. Evans bought the site, along with the cattle mart, in 1971, from a Mr G. Wintum-Collins, and ran the mart until the mid-80s, before it was dis-continued and demolished to make way for the auction house that stands there today.

The first non-agricultural auction held on the site was a shrub sale in March 1985, which makes the timing of the closure very apt, 18 years, almost to the day.

The final auction will take place on Saturday, March 29, at 10.30 am. All are welcome to witness the end of an era at Kilgetty Auction Centre and if anyone has an item for sale, there is still space left for extra lots.