A VITAL resource, which unions Alcester’s community assets at Globe House, recently celebrated its first birthday.

The ‘cultural hub’, which brought together Alcester Roman Museum, the town’s library, town council and other assets, marked its first anniversary on Thursday, April 13.

During the celebration, library's customers were joined by a Roman soldier and took part in a library and museum trail. For over 50s, the Silver Surfers were on hand to offer computer and tablet help sessions.

The afternoon saw a heritage and culture toys and games session for primary school children.

Last year, county council bosses took on a 99 year lease for Globe House, granted by Stratford District Council, using proceeds from the sale of Alcester’s former library building to meet the cost of the transformation.

The hub has enabled all tenants to achieve savings while Alcester Town Council was able to have a permanent base in the town for the first time.

The partnership with the library also meant that the Roman Museum was assured of a long term future.

Chairman of the Roman Museum Laurence Thatcher said: "The new partnership is working extremely well, with increased visitor numbers; Library staff, Museum volunteers and the Town Council have been working closely together to provide a quality service to the local - and not so local - community."

Town council clerk Vanessa Lowe said: "The staff of the Town Council feel very settled in the offices and we find that the arrangements with the library and the museum work well. We are grateful to the County Council for their continued support in managing the building."

David Carter, joint managing director for Warwickshire County Council, added: "In amalgamating the three services under one roof at Globe we have given security and stability to each organisation. But more importantly, we have created a greatly improved experience for our customers where one visit to Globe House offers so much."