Croydon Council has said it has no plans to sell off four libraries that it will be withdrawing its funding for later this year, and insists they will remain open as ‘community hubs’ – staying open as bookable spaces for events and community groups, but run by residents and community groups.
This news comes following the council’s decision to stop funding and staffing four libraries across the borough. Croydon Council said the ‘closures’ will allow them to increase the opening hours and services at its remaining nine libraries.
Councillors across the house cited concerns from residents that the four libraries could be sold off or redeveloped. However, Mayor Jason Perry attempted to assuage these fears by assuring them they would remain open as ‘community hubs’, and that this move would improve their overall library service and keep them at the ‘heart of the community’.
Broad Green residents and local Councillors Stuart Collins (centre) and Dr Manju Shahul-Hameed (far right) protested the council’s plans to close their library last night Credit: Harrison Galliven
While he admitted that the shutdown of Bradmore Green (Coulsdon), Sanderstead, Broad Green and Shirley libraries was a ‘difficult decision’, he also insisted, with his now familiar line, that ‘to do nothing is not an option’. The four libraries will now cease to operate their full services on the revised date of November 7, 2024 with them no longer being staffed. Since 2019, Croydon’s libraries have had their opening hours reduced and budgets cut by £800,000. This has led to their usage dropping to a point where less than 10% per cent of Croydonians now access their local library.
The new community hubs, while not staffed by full-time council employees, will remain open to the public who will be able to use them for community events and courses and book services. It’s unclear whether any of them will retain any book borrowing services or general public computer use, as this would depend on a community group being able to fund and run those services. By way of mitigation, the council said that it will commit to improving access to libraries across the borough.
These improvements include a new home library service, more community events and locally tailored book collections, which the council believes will bring the libraries to the most vulnerable people in the borough. It also promised a library shuttle bus service, which will have its timetable released in October.
The council has said it will support community groups who would want to take over the operation of the hubs in the absence of the council’s management. During the meeting, Cllr Perry announced that Shirley Library had recently been classified as an asset of community value and would be taken on by volunteers following the council’s departure.
Despite these new offerings and increased opening hours across the remaining libraries, many Croydon residents feel the council has ignored their concerns by pressing ahead with the cuts. Two-thirds of the recipients in the consultation, which began back in January, said they opposed the plans to close the libraries.
The leader of the Labour opposition, Stuart King, put these concerns to Mayor Perry during Wednesday night’s cabinet meeting. He said: “Mayor Perry, you promised to listen to Croydon; can you tell the people of Croydon why you are ignoring them when they are telling you clearly and emphatically that you should not be closing down the libraries.”
He added: “I’m not persuaded but more importantly I don’t think the public will be persuaded that the cabinet really does understand that libraries are really more than just a home for books. They are community hubs, and at Broad Green, they provide lifestyle programs, wellbeing and skills courses and much more.”
This sentiment was shared by his fellow Labour councillor and former Chair of Scrutiny Rowenna Davis. Following the meeting, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I think it’s fair to say that residents and community groups are feeling pretty angry, upset and quite frankly gaslit by what’s happened just now.
“The mitigations promised to be put in place seem vague at best. The Mayor might be convinced by them, but the residents and community groups I’ve spoken to are not.
“I don’t think the Mayor has really thought about the true social cost of this decision, the kids who don’t have internet access or who won’t have a safe space to study. Also, older people who need a place to go as a refuge from loneliness, the skills training that’s happening at these libraries right now.”
Of the four libraries due for closure, all but Broad Green are in Conservative-run wards. Ward councillors, like Deputy Mayor and Sanderstead Councillor Lynne Hale, noted the difficulties in making the decision they insisted it was the right move to make to ensure the library service improved across the board.
According to Kristian Aspinall, Croydon’s Director of Culture and Community Safety, the borough currently runs one of the cheapest library services in England and Wales. When detailing the reasons for the decision, Aspinall told the cabinet that staffing the libraries had become too expensive and that little resource was left for providing other activities and marketing.
Croydon says the plans, which it calls a ‘transformation’, will allow the remaining libraries to return to opening at least five days a week, where many had been previously open two or three days. It also believes the increased outreach services will bring the library closer to vulnerable communities who have historically stayed away.
Community members and councillors gathered at Broad Green library during the long consultation process Credit: Dr Manju Shahul-Hameed
Broad Green Library in Thornton Heath – one of the libraries due to see its council support pulled in November – is housed in a purpose-built building in one of the borough’s most deprived areas. According to local Labour councillor Dr Manju Shahul-Hameed, its closure will be felt most by the poorest in her ward. She told the LDRS: “This library is more than just a place to borrow books – it’s the heartbeat of our neighbourhood.
“It offers essential programs and resources that nurture the wellbeing and development of our residents. Community organisations use this space to provide training and healthy lifestyle programs, including yoga, promoting skill development and mental wellbeing.
“Broad Green Library serves the most vulnerable members of our community, and it serves a diverse and vibrant area of Croydon, where many ethnic communities depend on its collection of cultural literature to preserve their heritage. Taking this away would be taking away a piece of our identity.
“But it is not just about books and programs – this is about keeping our community safe and engaged. In an area where crime is already high, this library offers a safe space for our young people, keeping them engaged and away from negative influences. If it closes, where will they turn.”
Members of the Save Broad Green Library campaign group gathered outside Croydon Town Hall on Wednesday night in opposition to the council’s plans. They feel the council’s subsequent decision will only serve to hurt the vulnerable residents who rely on the service.
Kiran Kaur is a carer who has lived in the Broad Green area for a number of years. She told the LDRS how she relies on the computer services at Broad Green Library to do her weekly shopping and organise her life.
She said: “The closure date of the libraries seems very immediate and it doesn’t give you much chance to figure out what you’re going to do next. I might need to get a laptop now to do my weekly shopping from home because I’m a carer with my own disabilities and I can’t go out further than where I am.
“I’ve also spoken to a number of parents who said they would not be able to take their children to other libraries as they are either too far away, too expensive or too busy to go to. West Thornton Primary School, Acorns and Tender Care Nursery are all on the premises of the library, for them it means they can pop into the library on the way home and not go out of their way, they will all miss out because of this and there is just no capacity for the other areas.”
While community groups in Broad Green and around the other three libraries have expressed interest in running them, some are concerned about how this will work in practice. The council, for example, has not provided any information as to what will happen to library cards and security at the four libraries.
While she supports community management of the libraries, Kiran also acknowledged that this comes with its own range of difficulties and uncertainties. She told the LDRS: “Would the public feel as comfortable using a library that was run by the community as opposed to one run by the council?
“There is also the safety aspect of the computers. You know you can currently go in there and access your personal information safely as it is protected with a firewall etc.
“If they are run by someone else, we don’t know how much they are able to protect them or how much knowledge they have of these things. This is important because a lot of people rely on these computers.”
Broad Green Library has seen successive reductions in opening hours since COVID Credit: Harrison Galliven/LDRS
During the meeting, Mayor Perry said: “Despite the best efforts of our staff, our library service is essentially failing residents and not meeting our best value duty. Currently, fewer than 10 per cent of our borough residents and even our own staff have indicated that the limited hours do not meet our resident’s needs.
“To do nothing is not an option, however this does not mean the end of the library services in these areas. We plan to introduce a new outreach model bringing services to easily accessible community venues suggested by residents where people can borrow books, participate in events and stay connected with the community.
“It was evident from the public consultation that the physical library buildings hold much significance for the community, so let me be clear – I want these buildings to continue to be used by the community and complemented by outreach services in these areas.”
