A COMMUNITY group is campaigning to save their library as Wirral Council prepares to cut its budget to plug a £38m gap.

Wallasey Central Library is one of 14 libraries still open and run by the local authority. A number of other libraries have since moved into community hands as part of budget cuts decided last year.

However there are fears the council could decide to close Wallasey Central with a Friends group getting people to fill out a consultation on the streets as well as through a social media campaign.

Barbara Hardcastle, chair of the Friends of Wallasey Central Library, has been part of the group since it was established and has lived in Wallasey “most of her life".

'It was always the library I used as a kid'

She said: “Wallasey was always the library I used as a kid. When I was a mature student in 1989, it was my lifeline.”

She argues the library isn’t just “somewhere you can take books out” but a place for young people to hang out with Lego clubs every fortnight, coding classes, and board games. She said the library also runs events “to raise money for local charities” and host school classes.

Ms Hardcastle believes that if the library closes, which first opened in 1911, it will be lost forever.

While some libraries that have closed will be moved into community hands, Ms Hardcastle said the Friends group for Wallasey wouldn’t be able to take on such a responsibility.

She said: “Once we lose these, we are never getting them back. We have been told that things will get better. Believe me they won’t be”

Budget gap of £38m

The local authority currently projects a budget gap of £38m, down from the £49m worst case scenario predicted earlier last year.

This has largely been driven by rising energy costs, reduced income and inflation.

Part of this gap is being driven by the council’s culture and leisure department which is projected to go nearly £4m over budget with cuts likely.

A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “No decisions have been made at this stage, but it is clear from the current budget projections that the council is likely to face very difficult choices in the coming months and the authority will need to make substantial savings.

“This is a national issue and one which affects local authorities across the country.”

As well as writing to councillors, Ms Hardcastle said she had also written to Wallasey MP Dame Angela Eagle. 

Between a rock and a hard place

Ms Eagle told the LDRS: “I don’t like the idea of libraries being closed but I think we have to look at the situation facing the local authority. It is facing a £38m shortfall so I know they’re between a rock and a hard place.”

She said government cuts to local authority budgets were to blame, adding: “This resulted in a huge shortfall which leaves the council very little room to do stuff.”

Ms Hardcastle remains critical of the council’s approach, adding: “I am very very torn because I do not have much confidence in our council. I really don’t. We talk about levelling up but I think that levelling up comes through literacy.”

She also criticised an ongoing council budget survey which went out over Christmas arguing it doesn’t leave enough time. She said: “Over Christmas the last thing people were thinking about is a consultation. We have now only got a week. We feel this is another ploy by the local authority.”

 

What the council is doing

A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “Setting a balanced budget is a legal duty of the council. That means that now we are having to review everything we do and how we do it.  This includes ensuring the council is fit for purpose and able to meet the needs of residents and businesses of the borough, including ensuring the most vulnerable in our communities continue to be looked after.

“It should also be noted that the current budget estimates are a worst-case scenario, but it is judged prudent to plan for the worst, particularly given the current economic climate, and until all information about the financial situation for the forthcoming year is known.

“At this point no decisions have been made and there is still a lot of work to be done before the first set of proposals are presented to the council’s Policy and Resources Committee.

“The six week consultations on budget options began on December 9 and continues until January 15 (January 22 for the Youth Services options) and there is still time to find out more about all the budget options being put forward and comment on them before any decisions are made. Find out more from the website.”

Ms Hardcastle hopes they have got enough people to fill out the consultation and keep the library from being part of any budget cuts.

She added: “We have had public meetings, had 100 people turning up to public meetings in New Brighton. I just wish I had a magic answer. It just concerns me greatly. 

“Whether we can get the council to do it I really don’t know.”