Council candidates pledge to stop Bognor Regis library being moved

A joint promise to resist the much-loved service being shifted from London Road has been given by would-be councillors.

Liberal Democrat and Conservative hopefuls who attended the election forum hosted by Bognor Regis Civic Society made the pledge. UKIP's candidates said they believed in campaigning.

Five Lib Dems, two UKIP members and a Conservative from the 26 local county council candidates in next Thursday's polls took part in the meeting.

Their stance on the library brought applause from the 50 or so people present at Tuesday evening's Any Questions-style session.

The two-storey library has stood in London Road for 45 years. But a possible move has been suggested as part of the town centre regeneration proposals.

It could be combined in a civic centre development on the Hothamton car park, put in a seafront leisure attraction or joined with the University of Chichester's library on its Upper Bognor Road campus.

Yet residents who have spoken about the matter overwhelmingly want the library to stay put and have its first floor brought back into use.

Lib Dem hopeful Francis Oppler said: "Let's fight for the library and get investment in it. We should cherish it and look after it."

Conservative candidate Phil Hitchins said: "It's a very good public service. Not only should we keep what we have got, we should develop it further. A good library brings people into the town. "

UKIP's Joan Phillips said: "I believe in people coming together and campaigning for things. It's all about people power.

"If there's enough of us and we get off our bottoms, go along to councils and show them the facts and give reasons for our view, they will listen to us."

Other issues on which the audience gave the candidates a grilling were the poor road network in and around Bognor and opposition to the potential closure of the seafront as part of the regeneration plans.