Kingsclere library saved from closure by community minded villagers
The move to close the library was being made in a bid by Hampshire County Council to save £23,500 a year as part of measures aimed at slashing library costs by a total £300,000 from April.
On Monday evening, the chairman of Kingsclere Parish Council, Alan Denness, told fellow councillors and villagers that a group of 25 volunteers had stepped forward to run the library, managed by a group of four Kingsclere villagers, Nicky Lee, Susan Earl, Sarah Davis and Jo Baker.
“The county council made it clear there had to be a co-ordinating group to manage the volunteers and this has been formed,” said Mr Denness.
The group had recently met a county council training officer with a view to setting up a training programme for the volunteers.
Mr Denness said that running costs in the first year would be met by a £3,000 parish council grant – approved by parish councillors at Monday’s meeting.
Headley Trust, with the support of Sir Timothy Sainsbury, had also pledged grants towards the library running costs for the following three years of £2,750, £2,550, and £2,250.
“There’s every incentive now to get the library running with volunteers, I think we have made some good progress – it’s fantastic,” said Mr Denness.
“We have a management team, volunteers and funding for the first year,” he added.
Kingsclere Village Club, which owns the George Street building housing the library, had rented the part of the building which houses the library out to the county council. This rental cost, along with the payment of utility bills applicable to the library, will now be managed by the volunteers, while Hampshire County Council will provide the books.
At a meeting in December, Hampshire County Council executive member for culture, recreation and countryside Keith Chapman (Con, Calleva and Kingsclere) ruled that discussions with Kingsclere Village Club would continue, with a view to transferring the running of the village library to the volunteers on March 31.
At an informal meeting in February last year, parents, carrers and children were anxious to show how keen they were to keep the community facility open.
Library assistant Rowena Hensman, of Tadley, has said she would be very sad to leave after 20 years in the job