Lyme Regis: Birth of new era at library (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Lyme Regis: Birth of new era at library

10:00am Saturday 7th July 2012 in Lyme Regis By James Tourgout

LIBRARY supporters are renaming their library Charmouth Central to mark the birth of a new era.

They are reluctantly taking over the funding and running of the library with some input from Dorset County Council, which would otherwise close it down.

The group is set to take the reigns at the end of September after a long battle to keep it open amid Dorset County Council cutbacks.

They are also appealing for people to keep fundraising for the library and attend their next event, a Race Night, on July 28.

Hazel Robinson, chairman of Friends of Charmouth Library (FoCL), said: “The time for protest is over and the time for us to be proactive has begun.”

To mark the change from a simple library, used only a few hours a week, to a community hub for the whole village, volunteers and residents voted on a new name for the library.

The name they decided on was Charmouth Central.

Library services will be at its core but Charmouth Central will also be an internet cafe, a centre for learning and information, a small venue for social groups and a retail outlet for locally-produced goods.

FoCL has also set up Charmouth Central Ltd to take on the freehold from Dorset County Council. Treasurer Bob Hughes said: “We hope to have tenure by August so vital repairs and refurbishment can take place before the handover from DCC at the end of September. “In the meanwhile, we’re still raising money for the equipment we'll need to set up Charmouth Central as it needs to be to have a successful future. “The next event will be a race night on July 28 and we hope as many people as possible will come to have a good time and help to keep library services in the village.”

Tickets are available from Fort