Town council committed to securing future of Thrapston Library

A council has said it wants to buy the town's library with long-term plans to turn it into a community hub.
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Thrapston Library used to open between 10am and 6pm Tuesday to Friday and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

But Northants County Council has now cut its opening hours to just two sessions on a Wednesday from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm.

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In light of these changes, Thrapston Town Council has been discussing the future of the library and has released the following statement.

A spokesman for the town council said: “In view of the recent Northamptonshire County Council library consultation, Thrapston Town Council has been meeting to discuss the future of the library and the associated building and land.

“At a recent town council meeting it was agreed that Thrapston Town Council will seek to purchase the library building and surrounding land (subject to budgetary

controls, valuations and surveys) to secure it as a public asset for the town of Thrapston.

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“At this preliminary stage the town council is purely looking to secure the premises; if successful, how the site will be developed will be discussed over the coming months.

“We can however confirm that it is the town council’s strategic plan to seek to develop a community hub.

“Again, further discussions will take place over the coming months as to how such a hub might be developed.

“At this stage the town council does not have enough information from the county council as to the library service itself and how this could be managed as a

community led service.

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“The town council will continue to discuss and review all options, including the viability of a future library provision, as further information becomes available, but we currently have no idea what funding, support, services, equipment or training (if any) would be offered by the county council.

“We therefore wish to confirm that at present although the town council will seek to secure the building and premises, there is no guarantee that a library service will be available in Thrapston as the town council cannot commit to the extra unknown costs of running a library because we must ensure all of our existing obligations are fully met.”

The spokesman added that they will keep residents informed of future developments.