New library will transform town says county council

Now Rother Council 's Cabinet have given their backing to the plans.

Work is due to start this year on converting the empty Woolworths in the High Street to a library and information point.

The council say it will lead to better services for local people.

They claim the dedicated public library space on the ground floor will be almost three times the size of the existing library.

But sceptics, including the Friends of Rye Library are concerned that too many information services are being crammed in and that the library will be too noisy.

One Rye councillor commented: "It will be like Clapham Junction in there."

East Sussex County Council is working in partnership with Rother to provide an information point to enable people to access county and district services in one place.

Rother's cabinet gave their backing to the scheme on Monday.

Help point officers will share desk space with library workers, ensuring no loss of floor space to the main library.

"These are really exciting times for library users in Rye," said Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Cabinet Member for Community Services at the County Council. "We are now at the end of the current consultation and majority of feedback has been positive and people are looking forward to their new library in the high street.

"We're pouring millions of pounds into improving our library service across the County and Rye Library is one of the planned new libraries along with Wadhurst, Hastings, Seaford and Newhaven."

More details of the facility emerged this week. The new Rye Library will hold books, DVDs, information, local history, maps, illustrations, journals, newspapers and other library materials.

It will have a quiet area, comfortable seating, toilet facilities, a study space and public access computers. The furniture and shelving will be moveable so that space can be made available for author talks, local history events and community workshops.

A spokesman said: "The County Council's Library Service will strengthen its relationships with author societies and museums to provide vibrant exhibitions and events relating to local authors, events, anniversaries and celebrations.

"These activities occur in other libraries but Rye has been unable to deliver these initiatives due to lack of space.

"The County Council is working with Rother District Council to provide a community help point at the library. Rother District employees will be permanently based at the new facility to help with issues such as housing, local planning, bus passes and blue badge questions.

Rother District Council leader Cllr Carl Maynard said: "We are delighted to be delivering this project jointly with county.

"Not only will Rye residents have access to greatly improved library and learning facilities, visitors will also have a 'one-stop shop' for council enquiries at district and county level."

Rooms on the first floor will be used by both library and Rother staff. These rooms will also be available for organisations, such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux, to hold advice surgeries. The rooms could also be used by local councillors for advice surgeries or booked by local groups for various functions.

The County Council and Rother District Council will provide more information as the plans progress over the coming months.

For further general information about the County Council's Library Service, please visit www.eastsussex.gov.uk/libraries.

For more information about Rother services visit www.rother.gov.uk or call 01424 787000.