Plans to open a community library in Long Ashton have taken a step forward following support from the parish council.

The library closed in Long Ashton at the end of last year as a result of North Somerset Council’s need to make cuts.

In its place is a mobile library service which visits the Community Centre car park two afternoons a week.

 

Following the announcement to close the library building in Lovelinch Gardens, Long Ashton Parish Council said it would look at ways it could step-in to provide a community library based at another site.

And now the Library Working Group has revealed that there are plans to open a community library at Long Ashton Community Centre in Keedwell Hill.

The group said the library would be run predominantly by volunteers with some support from North Somerset Council and would be an independent entity alongside the mobile library.

The former Long Ashton Library site

A statement from the group said: “Following an options appraisal, it has been decided that the best sitting for the library is at Long Ashton Community Centre.

“This is planned to have two phases. At first, a temporary structure will be sited on the community centre site, probably opposite the cafe. An assessment of this site is being conducted. 

“This is planned to house the community library for three to five years whilst a permanent building is put in place.

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“This is likely to be part of an expansion of the community centre. Early design work on this is being done by students from the University of the West of England.

“In addition, we are writing a business plan to at the moment to capture all of this in more detail.”

Last year North Somerset Council revealed that it needed to make essential savings of £260,000 to library services during the next two years.

Long Ashton Parish Council has hiked council tax to help fund a community library
Long Ashton Parish Council is supporting plans to open a community library

The need to cut costs was even more prevalent in Long Ashton, where an expensive lease and crippling maintenance costs were draining most of the budget.

At the time North Somerset’s libraries manager Andy Brisley said it cost £55,000 a year to run the library service in Long Ashton and in the current financial climate, it was no longer viable.

Part of the problem was the council does not own the building in Lovelinch Gardens but leased it from a Northern Irish company for £14,000 a year.

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This was a huge amount compared to the library in Pill, which is free for the council to use as it is owned by Alliance Housing. In the north Somerset village of Winscombe, the council pays just £10 a year in ground rent thanks to a deal between the council and the Cooperative Society.

Earlier this year Long Ashton Parish Council announced it would be increasing its portion of council tax by eight per cent, in order to help fund a library service in the village.
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