A PETITION containing 500 signatures is to be sent to Gloucestershire County Council to complain about the loss of Painswick library.

Campaigner Isabella Szczurek presented the petition - which describes the library as an 'invaluable asset' - to members of Painswick Parish Council at their meeting on Wednesday night.

Also during the meeting, councillors unanimously agreed to rent the groundfloor of the old Lloyds Bank building in Bisley Street to house Painswick tourist information centre, which lost its home when the library closed.

It is also hoped that the building will be used to house some of the lost library services - such as internet access, and could become home to a book and DVD borrowing scheme run by volunteers.

Renting the groundfloor will cost the parish council £5,000 a year.

Cllr Ela Pathak-Sen compiled a report about the future of library services in the village which found there were two options in the short term.

One was to use space in the upstairs room of Painswick Town Hall, the other was to rent the groundfloor of the Lloyds Bank building.

Councillors agreed that the Lloyds building had many plus points - it has disabled access, is situated on the main road and has enough space for a tourist office, internet café, seated area with daily newspapers and an outside courtyard which could possibly be used as a cafe.

They agreed to write to David Painter, head of library services at GCC, asking to be kept informed of any plans for the library building.

The letter will also highlight the fact that the building was bought through public subscription.

A consultation on the best way for the county council to give residents access to library services began this month and ends on June 4.

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