Rutland County Council proposes to close Ryhall Library
A Rutland library is facing closure as the county council is proposing to scrap a promise to renovate it.
Rutland County Council says a building survey has found that the costs of improvements to the 1970s Ryhall Library would come in at around £250,000 and with just £70,000 set aside, it instead is proposing to close it. The plan is to move staff to the other libraries and instead provide an outreach library service to the village.
The closure plans have come out of the blue, as the authority announced in July that the library along with others in Oakham, Uppingham and Ketton would be revamped and become community hubs as part of its new Living Well initiative.
But the cabinet will make a decision in just six days time about the library’s future and has not consulted with residents or the parish council about the proposal. A consultation about an alternative library provision will open later this month, but it appears residents will have little say on keeping the building open. Ryhall Parish Council said today it is ‘alarmed’ by the proposal and will oppose it.
Cabinet member for transport, environment and communities Christine Wise (Lib Dem) said in a statement issued today: “We understand how important Ryhall Library is to the local community, and we are committed to finding a solution that ensures library services continue to be available to residents. This consultation period will give local people the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas on how we can best move forward, while also working to secure the future of the library service in the Ryhall area."
A report that will be considered by the Liberal Democrat-run cabinet says the options are to reconfigure the inside space without major repairs; do the major repairs or close the building and option of closure has been recommended by officers. The proposal is also to declare the site as surplus to requirements, indicating it could be disposed of by the financially under pressure authority.
The authority had set aside £950,000 to do the collective library works which would include turning the venues into community hubs. Plans to renovate Oakham Library were approved last month.
The building is currently open two days a week and on a Saturday. The council’s report says that it has an average of 102 visitors a month, with the majority of visits by adults. It says just two per cent of visits to Rutland libraries are made to Ryhall.
Ryhall parish councillor Andrew Nebel told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that the parish council had not been made aware by the county council of the possible closure.
He said they were aware some repairs were needed, but these were thought to be modest and results of the building survey had not been shared by the council.
He said: "We are extremely disappointed that this proposal to close is being made without any proper consultation with Ryhall Parish Council, which we believe is essential before a decision of such magnitude is made.”
Adrian Gombault coordinates a team of volunteer residents who open up the library for two hours every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, complementing the county council's opening times.
He said: “We had over 1,200 visitors last year, doubling the figures quoted in the report, though this appears not to have been mentioned in the report.
“I am shocked and dismayed at the complete lack of transparency and professionalism - not to mention common courtesy - on the part of Rutland County Council in moving, in the space of just a few months, from proposing to invest in and enhance this important community asset to recommending its closure, without so much as a whisper to those who are involved in running and using it.
“I beseech councillors to vote at their forthcoming meeting to put any final decision on hold until there has been a wider and fully representative consultation about a facility which has a significant impact on the quality of life of many members of our community, especially the young and the elderly.”
