CASH-strapped town halls have been slammed for refusing to give up number plates worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The mayoral car registrations are among the most sought-after in the country.

Blackburn with Darwen’s plate has been valued at up to £200,000, while Burnley’s would raise £100,000 and Rossendale’s £20,000.

Campaigners say keeping these ‘egotistical luxuries’ is a ‘disgrace’ as a time when people are struggling to make ends meet.

But defiant councils said they have no plans to cash in despite facing multi-million pound spending cuts.

The Lancashire Telegraph has been given three independent valuations for the three high-value plates.

Pendle, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley and Lancashire County Council do not have personalised plates.

Top of the pile was CB1, the plate of Blackburn with Darwen’s black mayoral BMW, which was valued at £200,000 by Select Number Plates and £150,000 by Reg Transfer and Carreg.com.

That would fill more than 2,000 potholes – at an average of £69 each – or keep Sudellside, Ivy Street, Shadsworth and Little Harwood community centres open for a year.

Earlier this month the council voted to end funding for community centres as part of £4million budget cuts.

Coun Colin Rigby, executive member for resources, said: “There are no plans to sell the number plate.

“Any proceeds would only be a one-off, which might delay savings, but we still need to make ongoing savings year on year.”

And Tory Mayor Sheila Williams said: “It might paper over some cracks for a year, but where do you go from there?

“It’s part of the town’s history and this would be like selling off the family silver.”

Labour opposition group leader Kate Hollern said: “I’m sure people of Blackburn could come up with plenty of things that money could be spent on.

“It would refurbish 10 houses for a start.”

And Lib Dem deputy mayor Karimeh Foster said people would want the plates, which dates back to 1904, sold if it helped protect front-line services.

Mary Anderson, who is leading the fight to save Shadsworth Community Centre, said she was stunned at the value of the Blackburn with Darwen number plate.

She said: “It is a disgrace. This is the exact amount they are saving from the four community centres. The public needs to be aware of this.”

Burnley council’s HG1 plate is worth £100,000, according to all three companies.

It was taken from a fire engine in the 1930s when the council was also responsible for the fire service.

Council leader Charlie Briggs said the town hall had once tried to sell the plate to former Opportunity Knocks host Hughie Green.

He said: “He wouldn’t have it. I knew then it was worth a considerable amount of money, but I didn’t realise it was worth that much.

“But why would we want to sell it? It’s part of Burnley.

“When you see HG1 coming you know the mayor’s inside the car.

“If we’re talking about selling the family silver that would really be scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

This year neighbourhood policing, street cleaning and a job creation scheme are all facing cuts as part of the council’s savings plan.

Labour’s former deputy leader Mark Townsend said: “I’m sure the people of Burnley would rather see this money spent on clean streets and safer neighbourhoods.”

Burnley businessman Andrew Brown, who ran as an independent candidate in this year’s General Election, said the council should sell the plate because of the cuts it was facing.

He said: “It would make sense for the council to put it up for sale with a reserve price of £100,000 if that is what it is valued at.

“If the reserve is met then everyone is happy.”

Rossendale council’s 1MTC plate was valued at £20,000.

The council said it was not certain where it had come from, although it is believed to have been donated to the authority in 1971.

Again bosses did not want to sell.

Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s disgusting that councils are hanging on to these egotistical luxuries at a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet.

“Councils facing spending cuts should be selling these private plates as soon as possible.”

Angela Banh, of Reg Transfer, said Blackburn and Burnley’s plates were among the most sought-after as they have two letters followed by a single number.

The most likely purchaser would be a businessman, celebrity or sports star with the initials HG or CB, she said.

Blackburn’s is worth more because CB are more common initials.

She said: “These would be really near the top of the pile.”

Source [Blackburn Citizen]