Category Archives: Libraries

Shock cost of repairs to Kilburn Library

Posted on May 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

In the week that Brent Council tried to remove the books from the closed Kensal Rise library, the cost of refurbishing the nearest alternative library has rocketed. For most of the next two years Brent will have only five libraries. Prior to October 2011 it had twelve.

Answers to questions asked by the Liberal Democrats reveal that the stated cost of works to Kilburn library has increased in the last 18 months from £117,360 to a staggering £650,000.

In November 2010 Brent Council told Liberal Democrat Group Leader Paul Lorber that the cost of repairs and maintenance to Kilburn Library over the next 20 years was £117,360 – less than any other library except Preston (£93,000) or Barham Park (£90,000).

After the Council recently announced a 4-month closure of Kilburn Library for repairs and refurbishment Councillor Lorber asked for an update. This time the embarrassed Labour Council had to admit that the cost would be £650,000 – a fivefold increase.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding to know why the Council did not make this figure public in 2010 when the future of Brent’s libraries was under discussion – especially as Labour Councillors claimed it was shortage of money which made them decide to close six popular local libraries.

Brondesbury Park Councillor Barry Cheese, who represents some of the residents affected by the closure of Kensal Rise library, said:

How can the Council give a figure of £117,000 one day and then decide it needs to spend £650,000 just 18 months later?

The closure of local libraries in Cricklewood, Kensal Rise, Barham, Preston, Neasden and Tokyngton could have been avoided if taxpayers money was used more efficiently.

Councillor Barry Cheese and campaigners outside Kensal Rise library

Councillor Barry Cheese (second right) and other campaigners at the volunteer pop-up library outside Kensal Green library.

When Labour councillors closed Kensal Rise library they claimed that its many young users could use Kilburn library nearby. Local people are now very angry at being misled as Kilburn library will be closed for 16 weeks including the whole of the school summer holidays. As soon as Kilburn library re-opens in September, Willesden Green library is due to close for demolition and redevelopment. It is not due to open until just before the local elections in Spring 2014. This means that for most of the next two years Brent will have only five libraries. Prior to October 2011 it had twelve.

Lib Dem councillors are demanding that the council steps in to get Kensal Rise library reopened during the Kilburn Library closure. They support the Friends of Kensal Rise Library and their plan to operate a volunteer library from the historic 110 year old building in Bathurst Gardens.

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Posted in Finance, Libraries

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Brent Labour Council Leader’s final day in office marred by ransacking of Kensal Rise Library

Posted on May 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Councillor Ann John’s final day in office as Council Leader has been marked by Brent Council removing books and computers from the historic Kensal Rise library, so that the council can get ride of the building.

Liberal Democrat council group leader Paul Lorber, who joined protestors outside the ransacked library, said:

This is a kick in the teeth for local residents, who have demonstrated their opposition to Labour’s library closure plan at every opportunity.

It would have been appropriate to pause the process until library campaigners had a chance to meet the new council leader, Muhammed Butt. Inevitably this will lead to speculation that Ann John and libraries portfolio holder James Powney wanted to empty the library and get rid of the building quickly to make any change in policy as difficult as possible.

Despite explicit assurances from All Souls College that it was open to the idea of members of the community providing library services at Kensal Rise library, Labour councillors have up to now been determined to see the end of book borrowing at Kensal Rise and rejected the well thought out bid from local residents to run the library at no cost to the council. Because of restrictions imposed when the land was donated, the building valued at £772,034 will transfer to All Souls College for free.

Sarah Teather MP and campaigners outside Kensal Rise Library before Labour's closure.

Sarah Teather MP and campaigners outside Kensal Rise Library before Labour’s closure.

Sarah Teather, Member of Parliament for Brent Central, has expressed her disappointment at Brent Council’s decision to clear Kensal Rise Library building of books and IT equipment today.

Commenting, Ms Teather said:

This is another sad day for Brent’s libraries. Campaigners have tried to work with officials to keep Kensal Rise library open, but have been ignored at every turn.

Labour leaders need to remember who they are supposed to be working for.  They must stop removing books immediately and talk to campaigners and local residents before it’s too late.

Councillor Butt has to get a grip of this matter if he wants to show that he can make a difference as Leader of the Council.

Kensal Rise library was erected on land provided by All Souls College Oxford using funds contributed by Willesden Urban District Council taxpayers, a donation from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and public donations. The terms of the land transfer meant that the land could be used to provide libraries for ever for the benefit of local people.

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Posted in Campaigns, Labour Failure, Libraries

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New Brent Labour Leader needs to show he can listen says re-elected Lib Dem Leader

Posted on May 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Commenting on the Labour Group’s decision to overthrow Council Leader Ann John and install Cllr Muhammed Butt in her place Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Paul Lorber said:

The face at the top has changed but nine of the ten Executive members who made so many damaging decisions are still in place. If Councillor Butt wants to prove that things have changed he needs to act quickly to reverse Labour’s unpopular library closures and cuts to street cleaning.

Cllr Butt also has the opportunity to turn over a new leaf in the council’s dealings with its residents. I have written to him urging that, unlike Cllr John, he listens to the views of local people and takes rapid action to re-open closed libraries and improve our street-cleaning service.

Last Tuesday (8 May) Paul Lorber was re-elected as Liberal Democrat Group Leader with Cllr Daniel Brown (Alperton) as Deputy. The Liberal Democrats have the most experienced Leadership Team in place with Councillors Lorber and Brown having served local people on Brent Council for around 50 years between them.

Speaking about his re-election Councillor Lorber said:

Over the past two years the Liberal Democrats have consistently held Labour to account in Brent for the damaging effect its policies are having on local people and their areas – culminating in Liberal Democrat Alison Hopkins’s excellent by-election victory in Dollis Hill.

We will continue to represent local residents and fight for their interests in the face of a Labour administration that has turned a deaf ear to local people’s concerns.

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Posted in Clean Streets, Liberal Democrats, Libraries

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Brent Labour’s determinat​ion to block community plans for libraries is disgracefu​l

Posted on May 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

Brondesbury Park Liberal Democrat councillor Barry Cheese wrote to the local press after Labour councillors handed the historic libraries in Kensal Rise and Cricklewood to All Souls College in Oxford:

Dear editor,

For many decades residents in Kensal Rise and Cricklewood have benefitted from the foresight of our ancestors, who built two libraries on land provided by All Souls College. The opening of Kensal Rise library by Mark Twain in 1900 and the opening of Cricklewood Library in 1929 were the results of Willesden Urban District Council and residents working together to raise the money required from local ratepayers, charitable donations and public subscriptions.

How sad that the achievements and good intentions of the past have been betrayed by today’s Labour councillors.

The two libraries are community assets which members of the community are willing to support by helping to run a library service in accordance with the conditions laid down when the land was gifted to local people. The council’s determination to frustrate these plans by getting rid of the land and buildings to All Souls College as soon as it could is a disgrace.

Labour’s spiteful refusal to work in partnership with local people will not be forgotten.

Yours faithfully,

Councillor Barry Cheese
Liberal Democrat councillor for Brondesbury Park

35 Hardinge Road
London
NW10 3PL

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Posted in Campaigns, Libraries

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Labour gives away buildings worth £1.5m for nothing

Posted on April 27, 2012 | 1 Comment
Lib Dem GLA Leader Caroline Pidgeon, Brent and Harrow campaigner Charlotte Henry and Councillor Paul Lorber joined library campaigners at the Kensal Rise pop-up library

London Assembly candidates Caroline Pidgeon and Charlotte Henry show their support for Kensal Rise library campaigners.

Labour Leader Councillor Ann John and her Labour Executive have been accused of giving away two taxpayer paid for buildings worth £1.5 million without lifting a finger to prevent their loss.

The transfer of Kensal Rise Library and Cricklewood Library to All Souls College has deprived the local community of facilities valued at £1.5m by Brent Council officers. According to the report presented to the Executive on 15 November 2010 (section 4.2) Kensal Rise Library has a building market value of £772,034 and Cricklewood Library has a value of £724,765.

The buildings were erected on land provided by All Souls College Oxford using funds contributed by Willesden Urban District Council taxpayers, a donation from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and public donations. The terms of the land transfer meant that local people could use the land to provide libraries for ever for the benefit of local people.

Despite explicit assurances from All Souls College that it was open to the idea of members of the community providing library services from the two buildings under the umbrella of Brent Council, the Labour councillors responsible for closing half of Brent’s libraries have been determined to see the end of book borrowing at Kensal Rise and Cricklewood.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Paul Lorber outside the closed Cricklewood Library

Labour councillors rejected proposals to keep Cricklewood Library open and involve the community in running the service.

Labour councillors refused to respond positively to the well thought out bid from local residents to run their own Volunteer Library at no cost to the Council. As a result assets worth in excess of £1.5 million were lost to the Brent community and reverted back to All Souls College – not to mention the damage done to the community by the closure of the libraries.

The loss of these two buildings is massive blow to the people of Kensal Rise and Cricklewood and a massive financial loss to the Council. I wonder if the Labour Councillors would have given up so easily on buildings worth more than £1.5 million if it was their own money at stake?

said Liberal Democrat council group leader Paul Lorber.

This is yet another example of Labour’s waste. The council is still paying the £55,000 per year rent due on Neasden Library and the costs of rates and security at other empty library buildings in Brent.

ENDS

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Posted in Labour Failure, Libraries

Brent Council at top of list of library closing authorities

Posted on April 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrat research reveals that more than 40 libraries were closed by Conservative and Labour councils last year. In stark contrast, for the second year in a row, no Liberal Democrat-controlled council in England and Wales closed any library.
 
Labour controlled Leeds council closed the most libraries, shutting 13 out of the 53 libraries they control, but Brent Council closed the highest proportion, shutting six out of twelve libraries in the borough.

Liberal Democrat-controlled Cardiff is opening five new libraries and Portsmouth and Bristol are also opening new libraries.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

While Conservatives and Labour councils cut their budgets without regard for the most vulnerable, Liberal Democrat-controlled councils know how to protect essential services.

Encouraging and enabling reading is vital to the development of children and adults alike. If we don’t give our children the opportunity to practice and perfect their reading skills at a young age, they will struggle to catch up later in life.

Cutting services like Labour and Tory councils are doing will do long-term damage. Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing thanks to our financial competency in the councils we run. That is also the reason why not only have Liberal Democrat councils kept libraries open, but councils in England have also frozen council tax and are most likely to be giving the lowest-paid council workers a pay rise.

 Brent Liberal Democrat Group Leader Paul Lorber added:

Libraries are a life-line for local communities – providing access to the internet and study space as well as books. Keeping libraries open was a priority when Liberal Democrats led Brent Council. Local residents won’t forget the damage that Brent’s Labour councillors have done.

A list of library closures is below:

Council        Party    Closures
Leeds          Lab      13
Brent          Lab       6
Bolton         Lab       5
Warwickshire   Con       3
Doncaster      Ind       2
Flintshire     Ind       2
Hartlepool     Lab/Ind   2
Manchester     Lab       2
Waltham Forest Lab       1
Barnet         Con       1
Bradford       Lab       1
Cumbria        Con/Lab   1
Lambeth        Lab       1
Lewisham       Lab       1
North Somerset Con       1
Shropshire     Con       1
Westminster    Con       1

According to the Office of National Statistics, only 77% of households had access to the internet in 2011. Nearly a third of those without internet access, stated that the reason was that access or equipment costs were too high.

All Liberal Democrat Councils in England have frozen their Council Tax and, according to the Local Government Chronicle, Liberal Democrat-run councils were more than twice as likely to give the lowest paid workers a pay rise compared to Labour, and five times more likely than Conservative run councils.

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Posted in Libraries

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