Brighton Hangs On To Civic Plate

Residents of the seaside resort of Brighton, Sussex, are calling for the mayor to part with her civic number plate to help rejuvenate the corporate coffers.

The incumbent dignitary in question, Councillor Ann Norman, inherited the plate CD 1, which has graced various civic vehicles for the past thirty years.

As the leading authority on the commercial applications of personalised plates, Regtransfers.co.uk were consulted by the local newspaper and estimated the value of the mark at around £150,000.

With local politicians making unwelcome noises about the need to save £45m in spending over the next three years, the spotlight has fallen on what could be an obvious economy.

Local resident , Peter Burr, lobbied his ward councillor, Dee Simson, concerning the issue. "Having just received our new council tax bill, within which the council claims to be making cost savings where possible," he said, "could you please explain why the mayor has a personalised registration number?"

Mr Burr points out that, whilst the CD prefix used to be the regional identifier for plates issued by the Brighton County Borough Council, under the current system the letters have no significance whatsoever.

Although many would argue that the historical significance is still relevant, it would be difficult to deny his claim that, "£150,000 is a considerable amount of money which the council should put to much better use than just sitting on an official vehicle."

A council spokesman counters this argument with the suggestion that, "Getting best value from our assets doesn't necessarily mean selling them all off," and goes on to say, "We do not intend to sell off parts of that heritage on a piecemeal basis."

Should the Brighton burghers have a change of heart they would probably find a number of interested parties from the entertainment industry, eager to display CD for Compact Disc. However, as technology moves on, they may be more inclined to favour something like 'DVD', examples of which can be obtained from this site as little as £189.

Check out the number plate search facility.

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