To Bay Life
Too soon to despair
Thanks for keeping the coverage going on the proposed library closure. I know many people are disheartened about the future of the library. But is it books that are stacked against the library opening as suggested in your headline or the lack of political will locally?
There is no doubt the county council are up against it. The scale of cuts being imposed by central government is forcing them to focus their services on a narrowly defined group of users, those in ‘priority need’. There are some serious flaws in their strategy, and it undoubtedly needs to be challenged but one way or another they will need to make major savings in their services. So, thinking out of the box is needed.
Pevensey Bay car park (Sea Road) currently provide a significant annual income for Wealden District Council, and soon no doubt rentals from proposed beach huts will add to this. Is it right that Pevensey Bay loses a really valuable service for residents when this income stream from tourists goes into their general coffers?
The government’s proposals for Universal Credit are about to be rolled out in this area and I understand it will only be accessible to residents online. The library currently has three well used computers and in my view should have more. It also has a member of staff on hand to help people get online whether it’s to apply for benefits, renew vehicle tax, complete homework, search for a new job etc
Surely, it is reasonable to ask that Wealden council considers redirecting some of the money from local parking charges to support the continuation of the local library, the annual running costs of which are low – the rent is a peppercorn rent. At the moment Wealden will have committed this income to other services in their budget for next year and it will be difficult to re-organise this so understandably they may be reluctant to do so.
Likewise, the Town Trust receives considerable revenue every year from visitors using the car park in Pevensey next to the castle. The income pays for the upkeep of the Court House Museum and Gaol, a significant part of our local history. However, faced with the loss of the local library perhaps they could consider directing some of this income in future towards supporting the library, particularly if it could provide a useful local studies room which could promote the Museum and Gaol to residents and visitors alike.
If our library is to stay open it will need a unified approach across local authorities to fund it. Pevensey Bay and Pevensey are popular for tourists which is good for local business, but residents surely deserve to see some of the benefits too.
I would urge everybody that cares about keeping the library open to attend the public meeting arranged to discuss the county council’s library strategy. Huw Merriman our MP has arranged this opportunity with help from our district councillors.
The future is uncertain but, with political will, opportunities are there for the library not only to continue but to provide an even better service to local residents. What we need is all the local authorities to work together to make this happen rather than each defending their own corner.
Perhaps you could once again display the poster for the meeting on this website as I am still talking to people who do not know anything about it. Many thanks.
Kind regards
Margaret Martin
Friend of Pevensey Bay Library
