Toy Store Staff Upset Over Library Plans

THE staff of the Pied Pedaller toy store in Thame, are upset that they have not been kept informed about a proposal to convert the shop into a new library.
The store Manager, Anne James, told ThameNews.Net:”We did not even know about the public meeting last Tuesday, which I understand was attended only by councillors and other groups with a vested interest. It seems as though there was no one to speak for the ordinary people of Thame.
“Since the meeting, I have been interrogated by my staff, who had heard that some action was expected by the end of the year, and feared that they would be out of a job by Christmas.
“Customers have been coming in and saying, ‘You’re not going are you?’.
“Pied Pedaller is an asset to Thame; we bring in a lot of trade from places like Aylesbury and we just can’t see why it is thought that this building would make a good library, when there are other, better sites like the old Rycotewood college or the Cattlemarket.
“A library these days has to have things like access for disabled people; it would cost a fortune to convert this place which has all sorts of problems, including regularly blocked drains. Surely it would be better to have a proper, purpose-build library?
“To my mind, the Cattlemarket would be the perfect place, being right in the centre of Thame, next to the Lea Park estate.”

The County Librarian for Oxfordshire County Council, has stated that the council is only at the point of looking into the feasibility of the Pied Pedaller as a library and no decision has been made.