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David Meadowcroft and Patrick Heather of the Twyford Village Partnership, pictured with a map of the village they made, have been working on the new library plan
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Plans drawn up for "a lot more than a library" in Twyford

By Jon Nurse
September 25, 2012

Campaigners working for a new library in Twyford are hoping to ‘wow’ the council with a fresh bid they hope to present to Shute End next month.

Patrick Heather, chairman of Twyford Village Partnership, said the proposals would offer a lot more than a previous plan for a unit in London Road, which has become a Tesco Express.

“There has been a lot going on over the summer – plans have been drawn up,” Mr Heather said. “This plan is for a lot more than a library.

“The more detail we are adding to our proposal, the more confident I am feeling about it.

“I can now say there is no comparison between this project and what was being planned on what became the Tesco development.

“The order of magnitude is completely different. It will include a library to replace the temporary structure in Polehampton Close but it will also offer other facilities.

“There will be space for community organisations – it will be a community resource facility.”

Mr Heather didn’t want to confirm or deny rumours around possible sites for the new library.

“There is a huge amount of funding. When the details are revealed I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised,” he added.

“We had a very successful meeting in August and a lot of progress has been made with stakeholders and architects.

“There are still a few things that need to be sorted out and a couple of important meetings that need to take place but I hope to go to the council at some point in October.”

A £1.3m fund earmarked for a new community facility in the northern parishes was deleted from the borough’s budget earlier this year, however Councillor David Lee, leader of the council, said a viable project for a new library could still be funded by the borough council in the future.

Mr Heather added: “David Lee has always said he wants it to be a partnership and I’d like to think we could wow him with the magnitude of the partnership we are going to offer.

“I believe at this stage, with some detail to be negotiated, that it satisfies all the community stakeholders and the borough council both financially and as a plan in its own right.”

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