If Only......

For a trip back 20 years, and maybe a wry smile, check out this photo of the library portacabin in it's heyday!

Juggling The Books

Katherine Griffiths summed the situation up well in this article in the Twyford Advertiser (July27th): "This temporary library on the outskirts of the village is still in place 20 years on. In those 20 years the population of Twyford has grown enormously and our library has not."



As for 'juggling the books' - can Wokingham District Council really say that this is not value for money? Numbers are not my strong point however the figures involves are as follows:
Asking price for lease of J W Greens = £600,000
Developer Contribution (section 106) money available = £40,000
By including a Children's Centre (plenty of space for it - and ideal location!) = £200,000
Sale of current library land in Polehampton Close = minimum £150,000
Maximum remaining amount required from WDC = £210,000
Think how many more houses and therefore more council-tax payers this area now has, can Wokingham District Council really not find £210,000 for this rare opportunity?

The Voice of the Community

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to this campaign. It is wonderful how people have really come together on this issue. I have received another lovely letter which reads as follows:
"My name is Eleanor Rawlings and I have lived in Twyford for over 40 years. In that time I have used the library practically every week and have followed it from the Almshouses to its present location. It really is much too small and way out of easy access.
Councillor Browne is alleged to have said that he believes in spending the council money on education, surely a community library in the centre of the village is as near to anything else to be regarded as part and parcel of education."

More Books Please!

The more people I speak to about Twyford Library the more excellent views and opinions I hear about why so many people feel so strongly on this issue. This is one such example, please continue to let us know what you think - make your voice heard!

"One problem with the current library in Twyford is that it has too few books. Before I moved to work in Wokingham I was a regular visitor to Twyford Library calling at least twice a week. I struggled to find a book I had not already read. The answer was to order a book from another Library for which there is a charge. I soon found I was spending a lot of money in order to read books that residents of other parts of the District could read for free. This strikes me as being an inequitable tax on the residents of the northern parishes.

If I was very lucky, one of the books I wanted would appear on the random movement of books between libraries, but mostly these were books that people at other libraries no longer wanted. An example is the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. When the series was on television it was virtually impossible for Twyford Library to obtain copies.

At other times the book I wanted was in “Reserve” and it surprises me how many books are archived in this way because of the lack of Library space in Wokingham District. A larger library at Twyford would mean a fairer distribution of books and would enable the library service to have fewer books kept in Reserve."

Linda Dane

How Much For The Polehampton Close Site?

The article on the front page of the Twyford Advertiser today raised a very important question; with housing land in Twyford being worth over £2m/acre, how much would the District Council raise from the sale of the current library site in Polehampton Close? Please add any estimates in the comments section below.
This amount would need to figure in any business case being considered by the District Council regarding the purchase of the J W Green's site.

Add Your Comments!

We would really welcome your comments on this issue. By clicking on the comments link below the relevant post you wish to comment on, a new window will pop up where you can type in your comment. You are then asked to choose an identity. Either create a user name and password (your user name will be displayed against your comments and can be your real name or e.g. Twyford Resident), click if you have a web page, or click anonymous if you do not want to display a user name. You will then need to complete a word verification test to prevent spam computers from adding rubbish!
Please add your voice to this campaign - get commenting!

A Heart For Our Community!

Despite a nice and suitably grim-faced photo in the Twyford Times (19th July) I would just like to say that I personally do not consider Twyford to be dying. I believe that the general sentiment at the Public Meeting last week was a positive "look how great this could be for the village!". The article does refer to the various groups such as the over 60's club, the art group and the local history society (to name but a few!) who pointed out the benefits of a library and central community facility allowing their organisations to reach out to the wider community.
It is true that the J W Greens site in its current state does not reflect well on Twyford, and as the sub-heading in the Twyford Times says - we will fight on!

Public Meeting Report

A Public Meeting was convened on 13th July 2006 and attended by 118 local residents from Twyford, Charvil, Ruscombe, Hurst and Sonning to discuss the library provision in Twyford. Many individuals attended as representatives from local groups, and many more individuals sent apologies.

The following summarises key points made at the meeting:

There is overwhelming support from all sections of the Twyford and wider community to relocate the library to JW Greens – young, elderly, business, minority groups and from surrounding villages.
There remain unanswered questions surrounding the allocation of Section 106 monies to cultural and library development in Twyford by the District Council.
There is dissatisfaction within the community at Wokingham District Council’s reluctance to honor its commitments to developing a centrally located library.
The meeting called on the Council to seize the opportunity of purchasing JW Greens and create a new library in central Twyford.

Meeting Outline
The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of Governors, Polehampton CofE Junior School, and was addressed by three speakers from the local community representing differing perspectives, key points from their presentations are summarised below:
Cedric Gilson, Chair TVCMI
Twyford remains under provided for, given the extent and scope of its enlargement. JW Greens is a perfect location for access and regeneration of the village centre.
Kathy Peck, Chair Twyford & Ruscombe Toddler Group
The current library is woefully inadequate for local carers with difficult access and limited opening hours. Libraries demonstratively increase literacy and educational levels for children. JW Greens would be a wonderful location for a new library and possibly house Twyford’s new children’s centre and/or a community crèche facility for local families.
Norman Raybone, Chair SCOF
Twyford is the hub for the northern parishes in Wokingham and is a natural location for a decent library facility – providing easy access for older and disabled residents. Recent suggestions that the new Crossrail rail transport system be extended to Twyford would only increase pressure on the village and extend it further. The current library was built over 20 years ago is running well past its known shelf life.

In addition, an email statement from Cllr Dianne King, Executive Member with responsibility for Community Development was read out.

The following summarises key points raised during public discussion:

Chair Over60s and Derby & Joan Club – the provision of a library must be in the centre of the village to bring life back into the centre, the lack of one being “an absolute disgrace”.

Citizen, member of numerous local societies – questioning concerning the amount of capital which might be available and where Section 106 monies have been allocated for Twyford following Waitrose’s move into the village.

Members of both Twyford and Charvil Parish Councils spoke in full support of the proposal purchase of JW Greens.

Chair Twyford & Ruscombe Art Group – requested a hall for exhibitions in line with general support for library provision which would provide extended services for the community.

Local business representative from Twyford Interiors – small businesses continue to struggle in Twyford, a central community hub would help ‘keep’ and develop custom in the village.

Individual local residents made the following observations:

The library would become a village hub, drawing people further into the village.
The loss of the current portacabin would necessitate a review of the storage of invaluable local history society archives which could be displayed in a new library facility.
A centrally located library would provide a wonderful community space for wider activities eg. poetry/counselling/meeting rooms/house the current thriving book club in the community.

The meeting was closed with a poem written by Kevin Power dedicated to Twyford Library.

Conclusion
It was agreed that key points from the meeting be written up and submitted to Wokingham District Council with a request that the Council seizes the opportunity to purchase JW Greens to provide a decent library service and benefit the whole of the northern parishes of the Wokingham district.

Fantastic Show of Support at Public Meeting

Thank you to the 118 people who attended the Public Meeting at St Mary's Church Centre and participated in a hugely positive discussion regarding the relocation of Twyford Library.

Notes from the meeting are being written up and will be presented to District Councillors as soon as possible (a summary will also be published here). A meeting has been requested with Frank Browne to put forward the views of our community raised during the meeting.

Public Meeting Makes Front Page of Twyford Times

Support for the Community Action Group has grown fast and significant numbers of people have been contacting their District Councillors to urge them to support the relocation of Twyford Library to the vacant site of J W Green's Bar. Use the links below to email your local District Councillor with your opinion on this matter.

It became clear that this is about more than a library; it is about a central community space, a heart for our community, a place for groups and individuals to meet. It became obvious that a Public Meeting was the best way for everyone to express their views and make their voices heard as a strong community speaking together. The Twyford Times helped to spread the word about the meeting by inviting every to attend in an article on the front page of their paper.

Twyford (Cllr Stephen Conway) drsrconway@aol.com
Charvil (Cllr Pamela Graddon) Pamela.graddon@wokingham.gov.uk
Wargrave, Ruscombe & Remenham (Cllr Frank Browne and Cllr Christopher Schutz) frankb@wokingham.gov.uk and christopher.schutz@wokingham.gov.uk
Hurst (Cllr Annette Drake) annette.drake@wokingham.gov.uk
Sonning (Cllr David Ashman) david.ashman@wokingham.gov.uk

Pram Push to Twyford Library

At 10am today 15 parents and carers with their children joined together in a protest walk up the High Street beyond the traffic lights towards the Library. As the photograph in the Twyford Advertiser showed; there is no room for oncoming pedestrians to pass, double buggies barely fit on the narrow pavement and children walking have to hold onto their parent's shirt-tails to stay close and not be scared by the cars.

Liz Chaderton from Hurst is a childminder and parent and pointed out that with the current library being in a portacabin it doesn’t take the children long to discover what a load noise they can make with their feet! She says “We want children’s early experiences of libraries to be positive. Because Twyford Library is so small the other users are easily disturbed.”

Sarah Thompson from Charvil Toddler Group ‘The Caterpillar Club’ says “It would be so convenient if Twyford library was in the centre of the village, it would attract more people from the surrounding area. People would be able to make a combined journey for the shops and library, similar to the approach used to encourage people to recycle; by combining shopping with a library visit people would be able to make more efficient use of their time.”