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View Synopsis TOM CHOWN reports.

Gateway is the new buzz word sweeping Kent as part of Kent County Council's roll-out of new venues that bring public libraries and council services under one roof. Jugglers and a steel band were the order of the day for the official opening of Margate's Thanet Gateway.

Cllr MARTIN WISE, Portfolio Holder, Thanet District Council: 'So we've combined all the services that were formally available for the council along with some services from Kent County Council and they're in the same building as the library so that people can come in and do everything they need all in one place.'

Q. And what does it mean to the residents of Margate to have all their services under one roof now?

'Well I think that the environment we've provided here is much more pleasant than it has been in the past; instead of our staff having to sit behind glass panels and high desks we now have a much more informal setting for people to come and discuss the various issues that they want to bring to us and we think that that makes it a much more pleasant experience, plus of course having the library closer to hand they can do several things at the same time. It has extended opening times, we're open now on a Saturday which is a first for council services, we also open till eight 'o'clock in the evening on Thursdays. We have meeting rooms in here so groups from outside can arrange to have meetings in this building which is another useful function for it. Not forgetting of course that we have a small gallery and an internet area, twenty-six PCs that can be used by the public to access the internet.'

£15,000 has been spent on new books for the library.

MIKE HILL, Cabinet member for Community Services, KCC: 'We had the ambition to amalgamate our library with the Gateway project for some time and we now have managed to achieve it and you'll see today the results of that where we've got not just the library but also all the services, both from Thanet District Council and also other KCC services all under one roof and this is what the Gateway concept's all about.'

Q. And how important is it to get more people coming through Kent's libraries?

'I think it's very important for us. I think you probably know libraries are facing a challenge all across the country, the use of libraries is declining generally but in Kent almost uniquely last year we put up the number of people coming to our libraries and we increased the number of books we issued and that's an enourmous success, we're really proud of that and that was due I think mainly to our policy of improving and modernising our libraries, making them more bright and attractive places and attracting more people into them and that's what today's all about, you can see looking around here bright attractive surroundings and it will attract people to come in here, that's what our policy is and I think it's succeeding.'

TANYA OLIVER, Head of Strategic Development, KCC: 'Kent County Council are leading on rolling Gateways out across Kent. Our first one opened in Ashford in October 2005 and has been very successful and we've learnt a lot from that. Thanet is our second Gateway and we're really delighted it's inside such an excellent part of this community. We've also launched a mobile Gateway which is covering the rural areas around Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and Shepway and we're hoping to roll more of those out over the next few years.'

Q. And what are the future plans for Gateway centre's such as this
one in Margate?

'Well later this year we're rolling out Gateway's in Tenterden, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, they're our three next planned ones. but we have a plan to have them in every district in Kent by 2012.'

Author Robert Rankin says he gate-crashed the event to sell signed copies of his book.

Q. What do you think about the opening of the Gateway project centre?

ROBERT RANKIN, Author: 'I'm always in two minds about these kind of things. I always find it a bit of problem if you've got a library and you take away books from the library and put something else instead of library books in, but then again it's more difficult to get people into things nowadays so you have to sort of give them a little set of computers to play with so I'm sure it's being done because it needs to be done and if it thrives it will prove the point.'

Q. And how's your book going down in Margate?

'Well to be honest, they literally worship me as a God in Margate. I think I bestride Margate like a kind of Titan. So yes, it'll just be sex and drugs and rock and roll for the weekend really, as it always is in Margate.'

And with 31,000 visitors since the centre opened in January, Kent's newest Gateway appears to be well received by Margate's residents.