Hope for library scheme

THE on-off 2 million Lewes Library scheme could be back on again thanks to an unexpected cash windfall.

East Sussex County Council has been given 2.7 million more in grant aid from the Government than it first expected, leaving the door open for schemes axed from its capital programme because of cash restraints to be put back on course.

The council s deputy leader Cllr Daphne Bagshawe on Tuesday told the Express that in an imaginary list of likelihood between 1 and 10, she gave the library project an 'above 5 chance of fulfilment.

The new library, fronting Friars Walk, will cost 2.044 million.

But the alternative rebuilding the current library extension in Albion Street would cost 1.196 million.

The council can also part-finance the new library to the tune of around 400,000 by selling off the current library.

And there is a 550,000 offer from the Arts Council Lottery Fund to build a regional literature centre as part of the new library building.

Cllr Bagshawe on Tuesday was careful not to make promises.

She said the Conservatives, since taking office in June, had put in place a core policy of ensuring lower increases in council tax.

Last year s 9.8 per cent tax hike was unacceptable, she added. This year it could be in the region of five per cent.

Choosing her words carefully, she added: 'The latest estimate of resources available, including details of the grants we can expect from Government, is a little better than planned and allows us some limited scope to revise our proposals.

The Lewes Library project would be evaluated against other competing schemes, she continued. But it was no secret that it was a key priority in the council s plans.

After all, the scheme had been publicly announced before it was pulled out of the capital programme.

A key debate on the future of the library project, which will have also house the local Citizens Advice Bureau if it is built, will take place on January 31.

The council is intent on spending an extra 11.5 million on education next year as well as a further 4.4 million on social services. It is also channelling some 350,000 into roads maintenance.