Dear Mr Welton,

Closure of Dalston Library

I write to convey the concerns of the residents, adults and children, who use the library facility at Dalston and also the wider community who appreciate its significance as an integral part of the village. The notice of its closure without consultation or dialogue with the residents, has generated the biggest number of contacts to me on a single issue since I became a Councillor. There has also been a strong response to the petitions in the village. Ironically, this decision has been taken against the background of the drive by the government to encourage reading and literary skills, with the announcement by Ruth Kelly, Education Secretary, of a £27M government scheme to promote early reading.

I obtained a copy of the report from the Corporate Director, Economy, Culture & Environment, dated 21st July, which was put to the County Council Local Committee (Paper10). The Committee have agreed with its recommendation, that the lease should not be renewed on the grounds that the building does not comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. It does not inform the Committee of what steps have been taken to try to find an alternative venue, but suggests that the replacement mobile library will actually provide a better service by extending the opening hours to include a Saturday mornings, and offering greater changes in stock provision than is possible with the present library. This begs the question of why the extended hours have not been offered prior to this.

Since the library is on a long term lease, and the DDA has been on the statute books for some time, it is difficult for the residents to appreciate the suddenness of the announcement of the decision to close this facility. The perception is that there has been a lack of consultation and that they have simply been informed of the closure. The property is now advertised For Let. Although the rent is relatively modest, having regard to the overall running costs, I have the feeling that this will have been a consideration in the decision to close this facility.

How does the mobile library compare?
The report to the Local Committee seems to imply that the mobile library will be an improvement on the present arrangement. This does not bear scrutiny.

Clearly, in a sparsely populated rural area such as Cumbria, the mobile van has an important role to play, but Dalston is a township in its own right. It surely justifies more than a mobile library with the prospect of the residents queuing in the rain waiting their turn. I foresee this leading to an inexorable decline in the usage of the library service

The perception of the residents is that the alternative offered is not the same as the present facility which is on two floors, and has room to accommodate a number of people of all age groups with chairs and tables. It also offers access to the Internet on the computer. This will not be available in the mobile library. Just as important is that the library will be lost as part of the social fabric of the community. I am also informed that only one of the two mobile units is DDA compliant, and that there is no guarantee that this vehicle will be available on all occasions. The above mentioned report concedes that the present facility can accommodate disabled access on the ground floor and I suspect that its ground floor area is in fact greater than that in the mobile library. In terms of compliance then, this is hardly better and is probably worse than the present arrangements. The report suggests that the present building cannot be adapted, but given the above, is that strictly necessary and if it is, could not a simple stair lift be installed to provide access to the 1st floor and a folding wheelchair kept upstairs?

The report indicates that the County Council have recently consulted with Dalston Parish Council on this subject and I believe that the Parish Council are exploring other options to a mobile library. Without prejudice to the outcome, under the circumstances, I would ask that you seek a temporary short term lease to provide a breathing space and allow further consideration of the alternatives. Obviously this would also require the goodwill and co-operation of the owner of the premises. A gesture like this would go some way to restoring the confidence of the residents in the democratic process.

Yours sincerely,

Trevor Allison.