CHRISTMAS has come early for people in Pershore after it was announced that the town’s library will be staying put.

The town council’s proposal to buy and refurbish the building was given the green light by Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet last Thursday, ending 11 months of “hard negotiating”.

Mayor of Pershore John Grantham was delighted. He said: “It’s a wonderful thing for Pershore and this will be an extremely popular decision. It’s a great early Christmas present.”

Pershore Town Council will pay £200,000 to buy the library building on Church Street and will spend up to £500,000 for a complete overhaul which will also see it house the town’s visitor information service. The work will be funded from the town council’s budget, external grants and a low-interest loan.

A permanent precept rise of five per cent – £2.68 per year for a Band D property – will help cover costs, although the town council is hopeful local craftsmen will offer their skills to help keep these costs to a minimum.

Town clerk Ann Dobbins said: “We anticipate the actual purchase of the building will take place before the end of the financial year with work on the plans for refurbishment also moving forward over the coming months.”

Previously the plan was to move the library to Wychavon District Council’s offices in Queen Elizabeth Drive.

This sparked fears that user numbers would dwindle and town-centre traders would suffer as a result of reduced footfall, and so was rejected.

The eventual descision has been described as “a win-win” by county cabinet member John Campion, as it will also help bosses at County Hall save £1.8 million from its library and learning budget over the next three years.

Town councillor Chris Parsons, a former Mayor of Pershore, attended the cabinet meeting last week. He said: “The proposal was voted in unanimously which in some ways was not surprising. There were many comments about how the town and county council had worked together. It has been 11 months of hard negotiating.

“Our town clerk Ann Dobbins has also done a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes. Without her we would not be where we are now.

“Pershore is leading the way in forward thinking.”