The prospect of a new library for Southborough has been described by Kent County Council as “an exciting moment” for the community.

James Pearson, who’s the Strategic Manager for Business Development at the KCC Libraries, Registration and Archive service, told Southborough News that the new library will be slightly bigger than the existing facility, with all the existing stock of books moved to the new location.

Mr Pearson said he was looking forward to the prospect of the library being combined with a cafe which was “very much where the national thinking about libraries is moving.”

We asked whether users who wanted quiet reading time would be distracted by noise from children, given the old library has a hard wall between the childrens’ library and the main library, which won’t be the case in the new building.  He said: “There’s going to be times when the building is busy and noisy but there will be times when the building is quiet as well.”

You can watch the full 5 minute interview here: