A CHARITY auction will take place at Bellevue Park in Newport tomorrow afternoon to raise funds to reopen Stow Hill library.

A band of volunteers, now known as the Handpost Community Library Association (HCLA), is determined to push ahead with a plan to resurrect the former library seven days a week.

It was shut down by Newport council in an effort to save thousands of pounds from its budget.

The group’s chairman, Alan Roderick, organised a poetry and open-mic event last month which featured poet, playwright and brother of the Manic Street Preacher’s Nicky Wire, Patrick Jones, as well as Mike Greenhough, winner of the All-Wales Comic Verse Competition, and Newport actor Dan Llewellyn-Williams.

Mr Roderick said: “It’s amazing how much work there is to do, but we have a great team of enthusiastic residents from the Handpost area working on our plans and local businesses are also starting to help out.”

The open-mic fund raiser, held at Ye Olde Murenger in High Street, brought in £105 for the campaign.

On Saturday, the charity auction will be held at Bellevue Park Tea Rooms from 1pm and will feature a wide array of strange and unusual lots including some Manic Street Preachers memorabilia.

Auctioneer Leighton Long said: “It’s over 20 years since I last ran an auction, but I have my gavel and am sure it will be a good fund raiser and good for bidders as well.”

Mr Roderick also plans to organise another open-mic at the Murenger on Wednesday, December 4, again featuring Patrick Jones and Daniel Llywelyn Williams, as well as Councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi, Bernard Pearson and Alan Roderick.

Entry costs £5 and the event starts at 7.30pm.