I SIT in a windowless courtroom in Leeds. I am surrounded by like-minded people who have become friends.

The barristers are sparring on points of law. The judge presides, surrounded by files and papers.

To our left sit three smartly-suited men whose intentions have brought us to this point.

The men are not criminals.

They have told us that they have our interests at heart.

They know what is best for us and others.

We are not a noisy rabble trying to derail them, but we are trying to give a voice to the many who feel that they go unheard. We are trying to save our beloved Crown Street Library, and we know that we represent many thousands of people back home in Darlington.

The legal arguments rumble on for hours, then suddenly it seems that the judge has made up his mind and is giving his verdict.

He is allowing us to take the case further. The men in suits and our group of friends may yet have to do battle in another distant court. We have a victory for all the ordinary people of the town who have helped our campaign in many ways.

On the train back home, with the lights of towns flashing by and the pings of my phone as supporters congratulate us, I begin to wonder.

We never wanted it to come to this. A true victory would be for common sense, negotiation and compromise to prevail. People of the town are becoming disillusioned with those in power.

I would appeal to Darlington Borough Council to set its plans aside, meet with the Friends and make a concerted effort to resolve this issue without further animosity and cost.

Sheila Harris, Friends of Darlington Libraries

THE Friends of Darlington Libraries would like to thank everyone for their support so far and in particular the many Facebook likes and comments on Tuesday as we travelled to Leeds for the court hearing (Echo, Nov 29).

The ruling on Tuesday means we have passed a significant hurdle and that a High Court judge believes there is sufficient merit in our argument for it to be heard in a full court session.

This has reinforced our belief and we will continue the fight.

We would again encourage the council not to waste further money on legal costs and delays and to engage with us and work to find a way to enable the outcome we and our supporters require.

Paul Howell, Darlington