Hotel plan a dreadful idea

Possibly turning the Central Library into a hotel is a dreadful idea and I am totally against it.
Central Library and Graves Art Gallery. Picture: Andrew RoeCentral Library and Graves Art Gallery. Picture: Andrew Roe
Central Library and Graves Art Gallery. Picture: Andrew Roe

The Library is made for books, education, art, theatre, culture and much more for the people of Sheffield. It is not there for outsiders to have overnight stays in a hotel.

The council says any modernisation will cost £30 million and says it does not have the money.

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I wonder if this is the actual cost or an impressive amount to make people agree to the hotel.

However, there is no mention how much the alternative library in the city centre will be.

This would be either a building converted to a library or a purpose-built library.

I would think that either option would be very costly, especially when the cost of moving the huge amount of books and archives plus the computers, furniture and everything else is included, (as well as the hassle and planning involved), would make it comparable to the renovations of the library.

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If it is too expensive to do the library, then where will the money come from to move it? Does the Chinese deal include this or not?

The council is very good at getting grants when they want to, so I am sure there will be several organisations they could ask – English Heritage and the like come to mind, who would prefer to keep the beautiful, wonderful, spacious building with loads of character and charm as it is rather than have the spacious interior destroyed as a hotel. So there are alternative options to consider.

Why do the Chinese want a library as a hotel? They could build a five-star hotel anywhere and the money generated used the same as with the library surely. Unless of course the council has signed the Chinese contract to do as they want, as they have with Amey and the felling of mature, healthy trees for £4 million profit a year.

The council has to have a consultation with the people for their views by law but they rarely ever listen.

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That’s if they actually let us know about it – not like the flood defence when the consultation time was almost over before most people knew about it so they think only 700 people care in over 1/2 million.

Hopefully we will get more notice – even though any views will fall on deaf ears.

The only way to make the people’s voices heard is in the May elections. We need either a balance of power or a change of power on the council – not all one-sided. So please vote in May.

The council is there to work and listen to the people not what they think we should have.

Liz Brookes

S6