Library doors to open once again
The doors of a library controversially shut down as part of council cuts are set to reopen this week.
Pheasey Library, on Collingwood Drive, will open its doors once again on September 1 thanks to committed volunteers and community leaders.
Councillor Chris Towe, who has helped organise the reopening of the site as a book exchange, says everything is in place for Friday and said he looked forward to reopening the site.
He said: "I am excited for Friday, this is the culmination of a lot of hard work.
"To say I was disappointed when the council decided to close the library is an understatement, I still think it was the wrong decision to make.
"Thankfully, we have a lot of excellent volunteers who are ready to bring the site back to life.
"It isn't going to be the same as a library but we are just happy that the building will be used again.
"We are still open to welcoming more volunteers and would love to see anyone interesting in using the service or volunteering down at the library on Friday."
Despite Walsall Council's Labour and Liberal Democrat administration claiming it wouldn't close libraries prior to coming into power, a set of initial draft proposals released in October proposed 15 of 16 libraries across the borough would close.
This was altered in late January, when a draft budget compiled after a public consultation revealed that six of the 15 at risk libraries are now to remain open.
A 660 strong petition to keep Pheasey Library open was handed to council bosses earlier this year but it was refused and the site closed in July.
The Pheasey Library book exchange will open at 10am on Friday and for the first month of the scheme, it will be open from 10am to 3pm on Friday's and Tuesdays.
At present, between 40 and 50 volunteers have offered their services, but anyone who wishes to do the same can visit the site and speak with volunteers.
