At last night’s meeting (14th June) hard work and people power helped persuade the Ealing Labour group not to recommend closure of four libraries – Hanwell, Northfields, Northolt and Perivale.
Petitions signed by over 8,000 residents were presented to the meeting and a packed gallery listened to the debate. At the end of the debate Cllr Dheer made his announcement which will go for approval to full cabinet on July 5th.
One service that will be lost is the mobile library service and changes do lie ahead as the Council wants volunteers to play a key part in providing future library services.
Congratulations to everyone who signed the petitions, the councillors who helped organise some of the petitions and who fought hard and the residents groups who worked tirelessly to save these libraries.
David Highton
I think we should be cautious in trumpeting this as a victory until we see the details of how Councillor Bell’s ‘alternative community model’ for running the libraries is supposed to work.
Also if money is now to be found to maintain and run these buildings then cuts will have to be made elsewhere and I guess sometime next month we’ll find out what these new cuts are.
On the face of it this decision sounds the deathnell for the prospects of trained, professional librarians in Ealing.
Can we expect in the future this alternative community model for running services to be extended to providing services like parking enforcement, planning enforcement, socal services and even running the Council itself?