ENGLISH theologian and philosopher Joseph Priestley and members of the Harris family have been immortalised in Calne after locals decided to name the two new community rooms in Calne Community Hub in honour of their service to the town.

Baroness Jane Scott officially opened the hub following its refurbishment and announced the two names during the event on Monday which also included a bake-off inspired competition and a choir from Cherhill Primary School.

Jane Vaughan, Calne's community engagement manager, said: "It was really fantastic and there was a real buzz about the day. We had about 170 people help choose the names and when we were putting them together, two names we came up with were the obvious options and although we thought they would go for something unusual, they went for the names they associated with.

"We have seen an increase in the use of the hub and yesterday during the official opening we had about 300 people go through the doors. For the whole day we had 546 people which is a 118 per cent increase on normal figures. I think there is also an increase in the day-to-day use of the library, especially now as it will be open on a Wednesday."

The hub, which moved into the library last month, has been vastly improved since April with moveable shelves, a bookable meeting room for up to 14 people and new swipe card technology that will allow access to the library outside of current opening hours.

John Thomson, cabinet member for communities, campuses and area boards, said: "I am pleased we made the decision to deliver these improvements, which I am confident will help the library and the community hub to be sustainable in the future. The refurbishment has already been a huge success.

"Local people are now able to access the building and use the facilities at times when the library used to be closed. Libraries are at the heart of local communities, and people can now use this town centre flexible space for meetings, activities and events."

Although Calne Library will remain open and staffed during the current opening hours, the swipe access technology has been brought in following a successful trial at Springfield Community Campus in Corsham and will allow signed up members to access the building to return books, participate in meetings and events simply by swiping their card and entering a PIN number.