Dear Sir,
A few weeks ago I wrote a letter to you concerning Pevensey Bay Library. The re-opening of the library on its old site still seems to be locked in a legal wrangle with the freeholder with no end in sight. In the meantime, due to the goodwill of St Wilfred’s Church (and the resilience of library staff), we have a ‘book exchange’ temporarily operating in their rather cold and gloomy hallway.
In June, the Herald reported that the County Council were committed to re-opening the library and were looking at options for alternative sites. Does anybody know what sites they are actively reviewing and what the timescale for this review is? Is any of this information actually in the public domain?
Interestingly, I have been advised that the Localism Act 2011 provides communities with the Community Right to Bid for an Asset of Community Value. Apparently this law requires local authorities to keep a list of such assets when a community organisation nominates eligible land or buildings. As long as the nomination process was undertaken correctly (i.e. came from an eligible community group on an eligible building), then the local authority must include the asset on its list where it has to remain for at least 5 years.
Bearing in mind that a building is considered an Asset of Community Value if its main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future, then surely this could be relevant to provision of a new library/community facility in Pevensey Bay. This new legal right gives communities a period of time to raise the funds needed to acquire a building before it is sold on the open market by the owner.
Readers may well think ‘OK, but where would the funds come from?’ I am no expert but I believe there is a funding route through the Community Investment Fund and the Lottery, and possibly local sources too.
Personally, I think it would be worth setting up a Friends of Pevensey Bay Library Group if only to keep the issue live, and I would be most interested to hear from anybody else that is similarly like-minded.
Regards
Margaret Martin
EDITOR NOTE: If you are interested in talking to Margaret Martin about setting up a ‘Friends of Pevensey Bay Library Group’, you can and we will pass on your email address
