AFTER a long wait Kesgrave is soon to have its own purpose-built library.For many years the library service in the town has operated out of a cramped portable building near the council offices.

AFTER a long wait Kesgrave is soon to have its own purpose-built library.

For many years the library service in the town has operated out of a cramped portable building near the council offices.

But by the end of the school summer holiday a new library, three times bigger than the old one, will be up and running.

Veronica Read, Kesgrave town council clerk, said: "We really are very excited about it. We have been waiting for a considerable amount of time for it.

"The pressures on the existing library have been tremendous even though we have increased the opening hours.

"It is still much too small for Kesgrave's needs. A purpose-built library is something that the town council can hardly wait to see."

The new library will be on the ground floor of Kinsley House, part of a new sheltered housing development, in Kays Close.

It has been a long wait for residents as the initial applications for the development were turned down twice before being approved by planners.

While there were no objections to the library itself concerns had been raised about the size and scale of the housing development.

Suffolk County Council is now calling on residents to give their suggestions on what kinds of services they would like to see.

Two consultation meetings will be held in July.

The first will be at the Kesgrave Town Council offices on Tuesday, from 6pm to 8pm.

The second will be at the Kesgrave scout headquarters on Saturday, July 16 from 2pm to 4pm.

Anyone unable to attend one of the meetings can visit the current library during normal opening hours to have their say.

What will it mean to you to have a new library in Kesgrave? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk