Court halts library cuts (From Tewkesbury Admag)
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Court halts library cuts
10:10am Thursday 23rd June 2011 in Cotswolds
A HIGH court injunction has been slapped on Gloucestershire County Council halting library closures.
Lawyers obtained the injunction as part of the judicial review case being brought on behalf of a county library user opposing the cuts. A petition was started after it was revealed that 10 libraries in the Cheltenham area were set to close, with Bourton, Moreton, Chipping Campden and Winchcombe libraries also being earmarked for reduced services.
Chairman of Moreton Town Council Rod Hooper said he agreed with the campaign to stop the cuts.
He said: “We object strongly to a reduction in opening hours at Moreton Library. Our library should be the largest in the area.
The way they are treating members of the library is a disgrace.”
The fight between campaigners and the county council has become acrimonious.
Gloucestershire County Council leader Mark Hawthorne said: “The council is not in any way surprised by this delay tactic. We were prepared for it. This is very frustrating for council taxpayers and community groups.
They are being forced into a costly legal process at a time when 20 communities have stepped forward with innovative and exciting business plans to take over their local facility.
“My message to them is that this is a short-term setback and we will continue to support them in developing successful community- run facilities.”
Leading campaigner Johanna Anderson said: “We wanted an independent review before the proposals were pushed through and warned the council several times that they would force an expensive legal challenge if they did not hold one. It is a pity that they can afford to fight this and not fund our libraries.”
She said the campaigners’ court costs were likely to be about £30,000 but contributions from the public were flowing in.
There were protests last November when the county council said it would withdraw funding from 10 branches as part of its £114 million spending cuts.
Comments(2)
Shirley Burnham
says...
2:44pm Thu 23 Jun 11
johannaa123 says...
1:46pm Thu 23 Jun 11
I do not know who Hawthorne thinks he is convincing with his spin. Many of the community groups are backing the campaign and the legal challenge.
They were given an ultimatum by GCC "run it yourself or lose it" without even a needs analysis being undertaken of the communities forced into this situation. People are far from "excited"
"excitement" alone is not enough to run a sustainable library service anyway. Once that is gone what happens then? The libraries close and Hawthorne will blame anyone but himself.
People want to keep their library part of the council network and running it themselves is a last resort.
Cllr Hawthorne is forcing the tax payers of Gloucestershire into a costly legal challenge due to his stubbornness in refusing to admit that these cuts are reckless and ill thought out. Communities are supporting the legal challenge and Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries because if they do not Cllr Hawthorne is forcing them into taking on a huge responsibility which they will have to raise the funds for themselves year after year...whilst everyone else gets a library service funded by their council tax.
He is not being honest when he says this is what people want.
The strength of opinion against these plans is evident in the consultation feedback obtained via freedom of information requests
http://foclibrary.wo
rdpress.com/2011/06/
15/gcc-library-consu
ltation-feedback-obt
ained-through-foi/
GCC refused to listen however and have walked head-first into a court case.