Council bosses say the cost of fixing one of Kent’s oldest libraries would take up almost its set entire budget for maintaining 300 buildings across the county.

The Grade-II listed site in Grace Hill, Folkestone, which dates back to the 1880s, has been closed for two years and there are plans to move services into the town’s former Debenhams store.

But cash-strapped Kent County Council (KCC) says its annual budget for maintaining non-school buildings is meant to be £3 million - and it would have to fork out £2.9 million to fix the library.

It means the historic landmark, once used by HG Wells, has been left in an “appalling” state, suffering from damp and mould after rainwater got in.

KCC’s two-month public consultation on the future of the library ended earlier this month.

Folkestone and Hythe District Council, in its submission, called for the Grace Hill site to be reopened.

The Save Folkestone Library campaign is also demanding the original building be repaired.

One member is Kelly Reekie, 79, who worked at the library for more than 40 years.

The Folkestone resident, who started her career in the 1960s, said: “An integral part of my job was ensuring that the properties in our portfolio were maintained in a timely and regular fashion.

“I am appalled, astounded, and shocked by the dreadful state of it now.

“It is an absolute disgrace to the people of Folkestone and district and to the memory of so many dedicated and conscientious staff I worked so closely with.

“I feel extremely sorry for the present staff at Folkestone Library during this stressful time.”

KCC is proposing the relocation of library services to the Folca building in Sandgate Road.

Mrs Reekie believes the Folca building also needs extensive maintenance and added: “The seagull problem outside the Debenhams area is the worst anywhere I’ve seen, so I assume the roof will be as big a problem for the Debenhams building as it is for the library roof.”

Folkestone Library was temporarily closed in December 2022 after flooding made the building unsafe.

A temporary service has been running at the former Shepway Youth Club, offering computer access and the option to reserve books.

Also against the permanent closure of the Grace Hill site is the civic group the New Folkestone Society.

Its submission to the KCC consultation said: “It has been the public library for central Folkestone for more than 135 years, serving several generations of Folkestonians, including HG Wells, who mentions the building prominently in Kipps.

“It is the oldest purpose-built library in your ownership, with a significant history.

“Its location was selected to address poverty and poor educational achievement in the area and it remains on the edge of one of the most deprived wards in Kent.

“It is a warm space for those who struggle to heat their homes, a place to get social interaction for those who are isolated and lonely, somewhere to use computers, access the Internet, do research and so much more to the members of this ward in particular. Moving it further away from them would be an injustice.”

KCC says it is committed to having a permanent town centre library. However, it estimates the cost for repairs to re-open the Grace Hill building to be £2.9 million when its annual maintenance budget for non-school buildings is meant to be £3 million.

It says maintaining the Folca site would be cheaper.

Its consultation document says that during heavy rainfall Folkestone Library’s guttering and piping do not have enough capacity to take rainwater from the roof to the drainage system.

Many pipes are cracked or restricted with narrow bends and overall there are not enough to cope with high water levels. Some guttering has ended up blocked by debris and is not always reachable to clear.

As a result, too much rainwater has got inside, causing damp and building deterioration.

The situation worsened in 2022 with water getting into electrics, damp spreading and mould growing, leading to the closure that December.

A KCC spokesperson told KentOnline: “Responses to the consultation are now being evaluated by an independent company and the consultation report is expected to be published later in the autumn.

“It is anticipated it will be presented to the growth, economic development and communities cabinet committee in late autumn and will be carefully considered before any decisions are taken.”

Not having enough money for maintenance over a long period of time, KCC now has a backlog of more than £159 million in repairs needed across all its buildings.

Therefore, it explains, it has to prioritise so buildings for the most vulnerable, such as care homes and respite centres for adult and children social care services, can remain open.

This meant that in 2023-24 it could not provide money to support maintenance works across its 99 library buildings.

Despite this, KCC has allocated a further £11.2 million towards essential building maintenance. A total £5.6 million has been approved for 2024-25 and a further £5.6 million is planned for the following year if voted through by councillors next February.

This still leaves a wide gap in funding for the backlog of works needed across all of KCC's buildings. So extra money has to be prioritised where it is needed most.

Even with this additional funding KCC does not believe spending £2.9 million on repairing one building, Folkestone Library, is justifiable.

A total £500,000 of the extra £5.6 million for 2024-25 is for essential maintenance works across KCC's 99 libraries, nine country parks and seven picnic sites.

This funding has to be for reactive and essential maintenance, such as patching a roof, rather than a planned maintenance programme.