Children make banners to help save Ryhall Library from closure
Young members of a community are involved in the efforts to save their village library.
Rutland County Council has said there is no money left in the county’s library renovation budget to fix up Ryhall library, which means the future of the community venue hangs in the balance.
A consultation is taking place and a decision whether or not to close down the building - or to perhaps hand it over to the community as has happened in other places - will happen in April.
Since the possible closure became known last month, Ryhall residents and the parish council have been trying to find a solution and on Friday (FEB 7), school children made protest banners to demonstrate how important the venue is to them.
Rebecca Bass’s son Jude took part in the event. She said: “I would be very cross if the library were to close.
“We borrow books at least twice a month and use the educational books to supplement the learning he does at school. It is an important place for him.”
On Friday last week the cabinet member for communities, Christine Wise (Lib Dem) visited Ryhall Library to talk to users.
She said she knew the decision to remove the funding for library renovations would be upsetting for the community, adding: “I love libraries. I would be out there on the picket line if they were closing the one in Uppingham. So I was not surprised at all by the reaction.”
Coun Wise said the issue comes before the council's cabinet in April, a collective decision would be made by her and her Liberal Democrat colleagues, and they would not be whipped on a decision. Like many local authorities, Rutland County Council is facing increased demand for services and having to look at costs.
It had allocated £950,000 from its own funds and grants towards upgrading all four of its libraries, but the £70,000 set aside for Ryhall, it says, is not enough.
The authority has said the cost of renovations would be around £250,000, with financial details of quotes released last week by the authority on its website.
The county council has not as yet made alternative options about how the library could remain open or evolve into the public domain, although the parish council and the recently formed Ryhall Library Action Group have been coming up with their own ideas.
Debbie Rolfe, who chairs the parish council, said: “Taking over the running of the library would certainly be something the parish council would consider on behalf of the community. We always knew how important the library is to the village, as it is not just a library, it is a wellbeing space.”
Within Ryhall there appears to be consensus that the library in Coppice Road should remain as it is.
The area’s two unitary councillors, Coun David Wilby (Con) and Coun Kevin Corby (Ind) have been involved in the fight to keep it as it is.
Coun Wilby said: “We are very much for keeping the library here. This is the one bit of the Rutland County Council in the eastern frontier. It is really important that foothold remains here.
“[The community can] rest assured Coun Kevin Corby and myself are urging [the council] that this building stays here. To the layman it looks pretty serviceable. There may be some things that need attention, such as the electrics and some rendering.”
On February 27 the full council will decide the budget for the year ahead. There is no money in the pot for Ryhall, although an appendix item to the draft budget published in January, which had marked closure as the preferred option, has now been removed.
