Closing the library will leave a gaping hole in the heart of the community

Hurstpierpoint Village Centre and Library

I read with huge concern your online article published on Wednesday, July 3: ‘Several West Sussex libraries could close as part of further budget cuts’. Of the 13 in the frame, two are in Mid Sussex: Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint.

I am not writing here as a local politician, but as a mum who has used and appreciated Hurstpierpoint Library on countless occasions.

Be it ‘Baby Rhyme Time’ on a wet winter morning, after-school pick-up to amuse restless children, or during the long summer holidays when completing the next stage of the ‘Summer Reading Challenge’ has given us the motivation to get out of the house.

For a year in 2013/14, I was able to volunteer with the library service and the children and family service to help deliver boxes of books to rural preschools.

I learnt then how hard the librarians and volunteers are working to keep a vital service open and accessible to all.

Of course, libraries aren’t just for the young, they are for everyone.

I for one can say that if Hurstpierpoint were to lose its library, it would leave a gaping hole in the heart of our village. These cuts must be stopped.

Alison Bennett

Councillor for Hurstpierpoint and Downs Ward, Mid Sussex District Council and Liberal  Democrat Prospective  Parliamentary Candidate for Arundel and South Downs,  Hassocks Road

Hurstpierpoint