The Te Anau community has forced a back down on plans to share the town’s library building with Southland District Council’s (SDC) customer service.

Late last week, Deputy Mayor and Te Anau ward councillor Ebel Kremer, announced that he had made a political decision to put a halt to the plan, including the previously advertised open day, which had been designed to give the community a look at what the SDC was proposing.

He said he had received a tremendous amount of feedback against the plan and that it was only right that he step in and halt the proceedings.

Mr Kremer said he had consulted with SDC Mayor, Gary Tong, and other councillors, and confirmed all were behind his decision to act.

The Te Anau community had stood against the plan from the very beginning, spearheaded by the Friends Of The Library Inc (FOL).

FOL spokeswoman, Marlyn Hunter, said the library was not big enough and a totally inappropriate place for people to carry out council-related business when they could be overheard by any library users.

“For example, imagine someone applying for a rates rebate due to their financial situation and having to discuss that while library users could overhear the conservation.”

A peaceful protest had been planned to take place outside the library at the planned open day and, Mrs Hunter said, while the protest was now postponed, it was not cancelled. 

She said she was under no illusion that the issue of sharing the space was not yet solved and was merely halted.

“If the council was genuine about this, then I would expect to see (the customer service desk) reopened up in the SDC office across the road”.

Mr Kremer said this was a serious decision and action he had taken and that the community could be assured that nothing would be decided before a promised feasibility study was carried out.

He couldn’t give a timeline for the study but said it would be sooner rather than later.

The scope of the feasibility study would now be widened he said, to include the needs of the whole district and allow a district-wide policy to be developed regarding the delivery of services such as library and customer care.