FOR years the Government has been banging the drum about the need to encourage more children to read and trying to get more people through the doors of libraries across the country.

So while the planned £1.2million revamp of Cirencester's library is something local residents should be pleased with, it does seem strange that moving the facility out of the town centre for the duration of the renovation was ever considered.

It turns out the county council was offered the chance from the outset to use one of the town centre car parks in which to have a temporary library.

But the offer was originally turned down.

Why? Because the district council wants compensation for the revenue the loss of car parking spaces will cause. The solution - to take some of the renovation money to foot the compensation bill.

This smacks of penny-pinching in the extreme.

Of course it would have been great for residents in Chesterton and pupils at the local primary school if the facility had been moved there in the interim but the wider community would have lost out.

Put simply, people are not prepared, and often not able to walk 15 minutes to use a public facility.

The library has to be in a central location if it is to continue to attract new users.

And as residents in Cirencester already pay council tax to the county council to fund such services there should be no question that money for the move comes from Shire Hall.