A CONSULTATION on the siting of Chippenham’s Community Campus at Monkton Park has flagged up strong opposition to moving the town’s library.

Concerns were mentioned by 40 per cent of the 1,014 people who completed questionnaires in the autumn.

When asked if they agreed with proposals to locate a hub for community services at Wiltshire Council’s offices, 59.2 per cent approved of the idea, but 40.8 per cent did not.

Ian Bridges, chairman of the campus development team (CDT), said: “The CDT have identified that a number of no votes have concentrated on one element of the proposal they dislike and therefore voted against. In essence, they may have liked the majority of the proposal, but due to one aspect have provided a no vote.

“Many respondents have stated they do not want the library to move.”

Mr Bridges told Monday’s meeting of the Chippenham Area Board: “They [opponents] feel comfortable in the library. They don’t have a vision of a modern library.

“But once they realise what we’re trying to achieve, they quite often change their mind.

“We recognise we’ve got to have good access to the library if we relocate it, offering a river level entrance and new transport links.”

Town councillor Mary Fallon said moving it away from the bus station was a real concern for users, many of whom were elderly and would not have computer access at home.

Mr Bridges said traffic surveys would be carried out and the new library would be designed to be all on one floor.

The area board voted unanimously to take a feasibility study of the proposal for the Monkton Park and Olympiad sites.