Answer at KRA meeting frustrates hopes of WBC support .....

Hopes that Woking Borough Council would support the campaign/s for community use
were frustrated by a response given by Cllr. Richard Sharp at the meeting on Tuesday.....
In total contrast to Cllr. Melanie Whitehands posting on the Knaphillian website forum, indicating that she would help ensure the site remained in community use, in accordance with the wishes
of Knaphill residents. Cllr. Sharp said that the WBC were resigned to honour the deal that
they have apparently been party to: ie allow the sale of the site in return for the new library.
One tends to assume that the planning consent, currently under consideration by WBC, is also a "done deal.....
Cllr. Sharp also claimed that the "deal " was well publicised. We could only find one reference to it in an old WOKING NEWS & MAIL article, which stated that Surrey County Council were treating the Old Library as a "Cash Jackpot", to fund the new library....... but with no apparent wide polling of views. Looking back, it would appear that after very long negotiations over many years, about much needed new library facilities, frustrated campaigners were willing to agree to almost anything, and this was pushed through without apparent opposition, apart from those who wanted a new, purpose built, library on the old site.
Some have asked why the SCC did not apply for a lottery grant or similar, to improve or replace the library on the old site, if their funds were insufficient .....we cannot anwer this one.....
When Eileen Martin asked the panel for general comments on the state of the community at
the end, panellist Rev. Nick Grew commented that coming together and buying back the Old Library Site might be a good idea, to general applause ! ........