A FORMER Mayor of Wellington believes the run down King’s Arms pub in the town centre has ‘huge potential’ for future uses and could become home to the town’s library.

Cllr Andrew Govier made the suggestion on Monday during Wellington Town Council’s discussion about the library’s future.

The future of libraries across Somerset is being looked at and a consultation is under way with two options for Wellington facility – leave it as it is or form a partnership with the local community to run it.

Somerset County Council has indicated it would cost £78,000 a year to run the library and would be willing to offer £5,000 a year if the town council took it on as a community project.

Town councillors have already come to the conclusion the library could not be run by volunteers only and is in talks with the local Library Friends Group to see what can be done.

Cllr Govier told Monday’s meeting that the two options on the table were diverse with ‘a lot of possible options in between’.

“There are probably significant savings that could be made in the running of the library building,” he said.

“But there doesn’t seem to be a groundswell of opposition from the public and there is a risk that other areas, such as Wiveliscombe, are keener about their library than we are about ours.

“I would like to retain the library as it is in its existing form but the building is not fit for purpose and has poor access, for example.

“The derelict King’s Arms pub in the High Street has huge potential I think for lots of uses such as a library – although that is for another day.”

Cllr Govier added: “We need to raise our profile for the support of the library, and fight to retain it and then look at finding a building.”

For the full story, see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.