report & pictures Paul Jackson
WARRINGTON Borough councillors will “fully digest” the findings of the consultation into the future of the town’s libraries before making them public.
This was the message to around 20 Save Warrington’s Libraries campaigners who handed over a petition signed by more than 10,000 people at last night’s meeting of the full council.
In presenting the petition, Dina Kingsnorth-Baird made an impassioned plea to council members to reconsider and revisit any of Live Wire’s proposed changes to library services in the town.
After outlining her concerns about the consultation she said: “My view, having watched very closely the consultation that was run and having read very carefully the information that was provided, is that it cannot possibly be considered to be sufficient for you to make a decision based on the input. The ideas and input it encouraged were limited by its bias and its poor quality.
“But certainly you should and must consider the input that was generated by the public during the process and value it for what it is. A huge number fed in, in the hope of protecting our libraries. And the petition I started, which roundly rejected the proposals – and by implication proposals that are similar to them – was supported by over 10,000 other people in the town – one of the biggest petitions ever presented by the town.
“So the message to you is very clear really. It is as the petition text says. Reject the proposals – and any similar form of them – but also work with the public to generate some great ideas, informed by proper and balanced information, for the future of our libraries.
“I urge you to organise such an enquiry with the public, and have a qualified and informed library expert run it, guided by brilliant solutions elsewhere in the country or the world. With no more talk of lockers.”
Cllr Judith Wheeler asked if the Livewire report due in December, would be made immediately available as a public document.
In response Cllr Tony Higgins said that the council would take time to fully digest, process and understand fully the findings of the report and only then would they make it openly available.
He added that he welcomed the petition and thanked the organisers and those who had signed the petitions for giving the cause heart. He assured them he was himself an advocate for libraries but that they should understand that the proposals were exactly that and not a done deal.
He added that all authorities were struggling to cope with the unprecedented cuts the Government had imposed upon them.
The Mayor, Cllr Faisal Rashid confirmed that the petitions would be added to the ongoing consultation process.
A separate petition signed by more than 4,200 people to Save Lymm Library was also handed in by Lib Dem councillor Graham Gowland.
But when Lib Dem councillors voiced their opposition to any closures they were reminded that they had closed three libraries during their own administration.
Former councillor Kevin Bennett joined the protesters – Picture Paul Jackson
Dina Kingsnorth-Baird and Cllr Gowland with protesters who attended the meeting
4 Comments
I rather think that the consultation has given Warrington Council and Live Wire a severe bout of indigestion.
What exactly is there to ‘digest’? Over 10,000 people have rejected the proposals. The people have spoken and they have said ‘NO!’ end of!
It is a legal requirement that a public consultation should be ‘effective’, the meaning of ‘effective’ to be taken to mean that the public can influence the outcome. To ignore the resounding ‘NO’ would be to render the process illegal.
Steven Broomhead’s remarks (note: prior to the council meeting) that libraries will “be different” after they have “engineered” the changes shows WBC is actually leading this unacceptable assault on our libraries, whilst it stands by letting Live Wire take the predictable flack. This is disingenuous, unconvincing and a tad insulting to the people of Warrington.
There was only a faux consultation after, as Paul Kennedy states, the two protagonists suffered a severe bout of indigestion from the public response.
Collectively both protagonists have manipulated attendance figures, whilst reducing opening times and other facilities our libraries used to provide (including renewing book stocks), then with all the ‘innocence’ of a footballer committing a deliberate foul, they hold their hands out claiming attendances are down.
We deserve better from the people who regularly seek our votes, all the while promising to represent us and serve our interests. Moreover, if we those we vote for want to out source some of their obligations for heavens sake out do it to a competent organisation.
If nothing else, Live Wire at least is managing to keep Warrington being mentioned in Private Eye, but for all the wrong reasons. PE’s latest mention draws attention not only to Live Wire’s lamentable library proposals but makes reference to the borough’s less than poor heritage status. And makes reference to “the town’s paucity of either heritage assests or cultural events and activities.” Telling it derides the setting up of a panel (I can’t wait to hear which local luminaries will be chosen to sit on this and the reasons why) to consider making a bid to be City of Culture in 2021.