WATCHET Town Council is now the official owner of the town’s library building, after contracts were exchanged and completed this week.

It is the final step in a saga that threw the future of the library into uncertainty earlier this year – even though the town was the first to get involved in the process of forming a Community Library Partnership with Somerset County Council.

It was one of five West Somerset libraries under threat due to sweeping changes to the county’s library services.

Somerset County Council has also been preparing contracts that will now assign the lease back to the town council, and will pay over £7,000 as settlement of its final liabilities for renovations.

The town council is planning a ceremony in the new year to mark the return of the library to Watchet, and is looking into extending its opening times and also using it as a community space out of hours.

John Irven, council chairman and Mayor of Watchet, said: “We are extremely pleased that after a long campaign we have finally got the building back for the people of Watchet, to be held in trust.

“We look forward to helping the Community Library Partnership grow and develop, and to establish its ongoing future for Watchet,” he said.

He said the strength of the Friends of Somerset Libraries and all the campaigning, including the support of the family of Leonard Stoate, who left Watchet library building to the town, had finally “got us where we are today”.

“Partnership has been the key – this is a partnership with the county council. Some authorities have been different, with a take it or leave it approach.”

Read the full report in today’s Free Press.