Chiefs brought to book over planned library closures

Dec 3 2009 by David Black, The Journal

TWELVE public libraries across Northumberland have been flagged up for potential closure as part of the latest round of major budget cuts facing the county council.

Consultations have started on the possible closure of six ‘low use’ libraries to save about £28,000 a year, under an initial £16m package of savings.

They are the branches at Hirst in Ashington, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, South Beach in Blyth and Hadston.

In addition, a further six have also been earmarked for potential closure – depending on the severity of the required savings which will not be known until early next year.

They are branches in Widdrington, Bellingham, Seaton Sluice, Guide Post, Allendale and Bedlington town centre.

Yesterday the county council said only a ‘worst case scenario’, in which budget savings of as much as £30m were required in 2010/11, could result in the closure of all 12 libraries.

People in the affected communities yesterday condemned the possible closures, which they say will hit traditional library users such as the elderly and damage efforts to promote reading.

Some of the branches now under examination – those in Blyth South Beach, Hadston, Lynemouth and Kielder – figured in a previous shake-up of the Northumberland library service three years ago, but survived.

Yesterday Steve Webb, who runs the only shop in the remote village of Kielder, said: “People thought the problem had gone away because we still have a library, but it is now on the closure list again.

“Lots of elderly people access the library and they are not going to travel to Bellingham for books if it closes. People will not be at all happy about this, because it is another facility being eroded from the village. It is going to be a real knock to the community if they do it.”

Cath Davidson, who chairs Lynemouth Parish Council, said: “We were supposed to be closed three years ago but the library remains in the village resource centre, although it is only open a couple of days a week. The county council stopped paying us rent for it but continues to provide a part-time librarian.

“We believe it is an essential service and this latest cost-cutting is disgraceful. Elderly people use libraries and reading helps keep their brain alive. We would very much like to see the library retained, and its opening hours could be expanded as far as we are concerned.”

Alan Stewart, who chairs East Bedlington Parish Council, said the town’s three parish councils would have to consider taking over and running the libraries if the county council closed them. “We have very limited budgets and should not be propping up ailing services for the county, but we would have to consider this if there was a demand for the service to continue.

“A sizeable minority of people continue to enjoy using traditional libraries and elderly people, in particular, would suffer greatly from their loss.”

The county council has started formal consultations on its 2010/11 budget, initially examining a savings package of almost £16m. This could rise to as much as £30m depending on the Government grant settlement and efforts to capitalise revenue spending.

A spokesman said: “We are considering the closure of six low usage libraries as part of the budget consultation. The other six could be part of the next tranche of potential savings, if these are necessary. No decisions have been taken at this stage to close any libraries.”