BREAKING NEWS: Suspension of Library Cuts

Save Lewisham Libraries Press Release re. Lewisham Council decision to suspend £450k library service budget cuts pending a feasibility study into re-building Lewisham Library 21/11/2018

The Save the Lewisham Libraries Campaign group welcomes the Local Authority’s Cabinet decision to suspend the proposed cuts to staffing of Lewisham, Downham and Deptford hub libraries.  We appreciate the extended period of time this decision has opened up to plan for a more sustainable and positive solution for library provision in the future. 

We hope that the Council's decision to rethink its investment in libraries reflects an understanding of libraries' crucial role in underpinning other public services.

We are very glad that valuable library staff jobs will be protected for the year ahead. However, we have a number of outstanding concerns about the council’s new proposal for a feasibility study into re-building Lewisham Library as part of a housing development.

Our concerns and questions are:

·     We request clarity regarding the duration of the suspension of cuts. How long will this feasibility study take and what will happen if the proposals for redevelopment are judged to be unfeasible?

·     We request that a rigorous and meaningful consultation with the Lewisham public and interested user groups is carried out as an integral part of the feasibility plan.

·     We are concerned that the council could end suspension of the staff cuts during the temporary relocation - thus diminishing the frontline service to its users and denigrating libraries greatest asset - its staff. Can the Council guarantee this will not happen?

·     We ask why has this option been re-opened as the Council’s preferred option after it had already been dismissed as a feasible option in the Council’s consultation document published less than a week ago? This option was dismissed on the grounds that:

“This would require the closure of the building. Lewisham library dealt with just under 50% of all the face to face enquiries received in 2017/18. This option would require the relocation of the archives, local history service and reference library. 

This option would deliver the required £450k saving but would require the closure of a library building. This option has therefore been dismissed although the service will continue to look at options for both short term improvements to the building that could support additional earned income and a longer-term re-provision of a central library for the borough.”

·     We request an estimated timeline for the period of closure/relocation of Lewisham library that any development project would entail, and to know how the council will mitigate the equalities impacts on communities caused by temporary relocation.

·    We are particularly concerned about the safe storage and preservation of, and public accessibility to, Lewisham’s archives and local history collections during the period of relocation. We are looking into Lewisham Library and Information Service’s professional and statutory duties on this matter. As the service itself states, the material held in the Local History and Archives Centre “is in many cases irreplaceable, so it must be treated with great care.”

·      We have further concerns regarding the restructuring of the proposed new library building and the transparency of financial planning for this new proposal. The Council is studying the feasibility of re-developing the current Lewisham Library site and building council owned homes (how high and how many is unknown at this stage) and the library housed within or underneath the new building.

This throws up many new questions:

o  Will the base land itself be sold freehold to a private developer?

o  If not, how does the council propose to fund this development?

o  If yes, does this mean that the new library floor space will be leasehold only?

o  If yes, what is the size of the floor space? Will this mean self-service only?

·     Will the Council commit to funding any budget shortfall during this period from reserves rather than transferring cuts to other Council services?

The Save Lewisham Libraries Campaign is still very much alive, and we will continue to push the Council for accountability on these decisions and ensure that it meets its statutory duties in providing a comprehensive and efficient library service for Lewisham people. We will also be closely following its Public Sector Equality Duty in ensuring that access requirements and the needs of people with protected characteristics are met by the library service.