Chelmsford borough councillor Mike Mackrory claims Springfield has been "betrayed" by a new county council delay over the proposed £1million library for the residential area.

Twelve years ago a county libraries committee chairman was "appaled" by the lack of a library for the area's 17,000 people. There is still no firm date for one.

The project is hoped to be included in a private finance initiative at an unspecified date now that the libraries' capital programme under which Braintree's new library was built, no longer exists.

Cllr Mackrory's outcry followed a briefing to the parish council by Essex libraries chief Grace Kempster.

Cllr Mackrory said: "The library had been next in the capital programme when a project for Colchester was substituted, and later Springfield was made candidate for the Private Finance Initiative process but when that could come about Ms Kempster could not tell us.

"This is a betrayal of the residents of Springfield who have been promised this for years and years and years."

Parish clerk Pauline Carr said the Springfield community raised its own £1million for a parish centre at New Bowers Way with social facilities, meeting rooms and offices for the parish council, due to open next summer.

"We had hoped for a partnership scheme to save us both costs as the library site is adjacent to ours - but that never came about.

"I think the discussion at the meeting left people astonished and angered at the library situation," she said.

Grace Kempster commented: "I answered a lot of questions at the meeting and can only say that the Springfield library with four others remains a priority.

"The thing I do not know is when the Private Finance Initiative bid will go forward but hope to have more information for the parish council when I go back in March."

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