The city council says "there remains a threat of the closure of the libraries" in some of the most deprived areas of Nottingham. As such a councillor in Radford fears there will be "nothing left at all" within the community if the library in her ward is axed.
Labour-run Nottingham City Council recently detailed five possible options to save three under-threat libraries after thousands of residents, organisations and a campaign group condemned plans to close them down. While it was understood this was somewhat of a lifeline, the council says the threat of closure does indeed remain.
It has proposed to close the Basford, Aspley and the Radford-Lenton libraries to save £233,000, phased over three years between 2021 and 2024. It is now known however the phasing has already provided a saving of £154,000 to date, which has been achieved by a "restructure of frontline services".
Shutting the three sites would only now save £79,000, but it is understood this would be an annual saving, not a one-off. Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, the portfolio holder for leisure and culture who represents Lenton, revealed the Conservative Government's 'Levelling Up' funding cannot be used to fund the running of the libraries, as is the same for the sale of its property assets, meaning the council must find the savings elsewhere.
He said: "This means there remains a threat of closure of the libraries as there is still a saving to be found. But there is a range of different options that we want to explore to meaningfully the need and address the asks of residents who responded to the consultation, protecting as many libraries as possible while at the same time making the required revenue saving."
While the consultation garnered 2,979 individual responses, 110 signatures on a letter from professional writers and poets such as Henry Normal, as well as statements from prominent organisations and campaign groups, it was heavily criticised during a council meeting at Loxley House on August 3.
Councillor Anne Peach, who represents Radford, said: "Did the consultation take into account what other communal or council facilities were in the area? There are no other community facilities in Radford ward other than the library and when that closes there will be nothing at all."
Councillor Kotsonis responded to say the council is aiming to keep most residents within walking distance of a library. "For Radford and Lenton it is a 20 minute walk to Hyson Green and of course the walk is quite long," he said, before his comments prompted an outburst from members of the public who were also present at the meeting.
He says Aspley Library members would be able to travel to Strelley Library, which is even farther to walk at 30 minutes. And Councillor Andrew Rule, representing Clifton West for the Conservatives, echoed the concerns adding: "As we move through the year we are going to be seeing another round of energy bill increases and in particular we have heard that we have got one area where the library is the last remaining community asset. Community assets are going to be crucial to helping people get through this.
"They already assist with social isolation so you will be well-minded to look at this."
Councillors raised further issue with the fact most of the respondents were white-British, quoting the lack of accessibility as a barrier to some. This included issues with the readability of the consultation documents in areas with low literacy attainments, as well as a lack of cooperation with mosques, gurdwaras and schools.
The Save Nottingham Libraries campaign group, members of which were in attendance at the meeting, said the council was "showing the usual ignorance of black and minority communities". The group added: "[The] overview and scrutiny committee speaking on community spaces near to libraries, showing the usual ignorance of black and minority communities, stating ACNA centre (Afro-Caribbean National Artistic Centre) is near the impacted libraries.
"Presumably they're thinking of the Marcus Garvey Centre near Radford-Lenton Library? We as a campaign know they did no outreach at Marcus Garvey, the local gurdwaras or mosques or churches. We did and everyone we spoke with had no idea there was a proposal to close libraries."
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