This town wants its library back

A town has been without a proper library for nine months after the discovery of asbestos in the building put the brakes on a refurbishment project.

More than 700 people in Ossett have signed a petition calling on Wakefield Council to speed up work to reopen the library after its closure last September.

At the time Wakefield Council was planning to close the Station Road library for nine weeks to carry out a refurbishment.

But it has been closed ever since the asbestos was found.

A temporary library was then set up in Ossett Town Hall - but it is upstairs in the building and has no disabled access or computers for library users.

Lynne Lightfoot, who runs fabric shop Spinning Yarns on Station Road, said: “I’ve had absolutely loads of people come in and sign the petition.

“The people of Ossett want their library back.”

Mark Ellerker, who runs Eller Coffee on Station Road, said: “Now, if you are disabled or need to use a computer you can’t get that service in Ossett, which is kind of ridiculous.”

Wakefield Council said a mobile library was visiting the town every three weeks. The next time is on May 31.

Sarah Pearson, acting corporate director for regeneration and economic growth, said: “We understand people’s frustration and we are sorry if the temporary arrangements have caused any inconvenience to residents.

“If anyone has problems accessing the temporary library then we would be more than happy to arrange for the mobile library service to visit them in their own homes and encourage them to call 019214 302241.”