Letter from Monte Little, Alderbury

The extraordinary thing about Durrington Library (Journal, April 28) is that it has lasted this long!

It was opened in January 1971 and a picture in Bygone Salisbury (Journal, January 21) shows the opening of the new library.

Durrington is the last remaining library still occupying a “temporary building” with a life expectancy of 10 years.

It is quite shameful that over 50 years nothing has been done to upgrade the building apart from a buttress (to the right of the library) to keep it upright!

Read more: Community concerns over library’s uncertain future

Prior to the new library, the service had been provided from the old village hall in less than favourable conditions (awful, really).

For a community of more than 7,000 in population, 2,500 households with an infant school, a primary school, a secondary school, nurseries, pre-school facilities, three supermarkets, two pubs, four churches, a leisure centre, sheltered accommodation and many other facilities - it seems strange that a decent community library should even be in doubt.

The land on which it sits belongs to Wiltshire Council and other 'temporary buildings' used for this purpose have long since been replaced - Pewsey and Bradford-on-Avon come to mind.

The community has every right to be "worried” and “concerned” over Wiltshire Council’s lack of commitment to the library service in Durrington and the high cost of replacement is due entirely to their huge inactivity over 50 years.

For information, I worked both in the awful old village hall and its replacement, appearing in the Bygone Salisbury photograph referred to above, with warm memories of Dorothy Toomer and husband, Alan, who made the old village hall bearable!