A FORMER library in a valleys town has had to be boarded up with metal panels due to anti-social behaviour in the area.
The town’s library moved buildings to its new home in Trinity Chapel on September 17 this year.
The old library was closed for two weeks from August 31 to facilitate the move to Trinity Chapel.
It can now be found at the address Abertillery Library & Community Education Centre, Trinity Chapel, Church Street, Abertillery, NP13 1DB.
Local residents are saddened by the current state of the old building
However, in recent weeks the old building has been a matter of discussion in local Facebook groups.
On October 5, a resident said: “I drove past the old library today. It’s covered in steel shuttering.
“I never thought Abertillery could look any more depressing than it already is. Sad times.”
Another resident commented: “Why couldn’t that building have been used until Christmas as a temporary market for local craft makers and businesses.
Why is the building covered in metal?
In a post in a local Facebook group, Cllr Julie Holt said: “I’ve been asking questions about why the old library is covered in metal sheets.
“The answer (as I suspected) was anti-social behaviour, which could be dangerous with the amount of glass on the building."
What is the future for the building?
The local councilor's statement revealed talks are currently underway on possible future uses of the building.
“I’ve had assurances that this is a temporary measure and there are talks going on with possible future users of the building who may want to change the layout etc. before they can use the building for different uses.
“I’ll do my best to get more information out to you all as it becomes available. Hopefully it will be sorted soon,” she added.
A local security company, Hound Security Services LTD offered their services to protect the library from anti-social behaviour.
In a post in a local Facebook group, Hound Security Services LTD said: “We are hound security services, we are a security company based in Abertillery.
“Recently there's been a lot of concern regarding the library building.
“Our office is based just behind the library, and we are back and forth at all times of the day due to the nature of our work.
“Our managing directors actually grew up and live in Abertillery, their children love using the library and they would be saddened to see anything happen to the building.
“We would like to offer our services to help look after the building for free, all we ask is that we can pop up some banners for advertisement.
“We would love to know how the community feels about this, please let us know.”
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