SENIOR councillors have denied the decision on the future of the library service was a U-turn – but opposition members share doubts.
Anxieties were high earlier this year when cabinet members were eyeing to close four libraries, including Boyn Grove, and slashing opening hours of others, such as Dedworth library, to a combined total of 217.5 hours per week.
This was in order to save money as part of the approved budget and swap to offer a 24/7 digital library service to residents.
These original proposals were scrapped after more than 1,000 people responded to a 12-week consultation, which saw no libraries closing, other than the container libraries in Holyport, Furze Platt, and Woodlands Park, and deliver a total of 314.5 opening hours per week.
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Some of these savings were achieved by retiring the mobile library service and replacing it with a volunteer service that delivers books to people’s homes, known as the select and deliver scheme, as well as keeping the container library in Wraysbury in order to save towing costs.
At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, June 24, senior councillors voted to keep the libraries open albeit with reduced opening hours in some, such as Boyn Grove.
However, they were forced to defend themselves after the opposing Liberal Democrats said the Conservative administration “backed down” from the cuts following public outcry.
Lib Dem councillor Gurch Singh (St Mary’s) said: “I’m disappointed it [has] taken the administration five months to realise that residents want to keep the libraries open.
“Had you engaged with opposition members from the outset, you would have realised the libraries are a valuable local resource and the communities really, really do cherish these resources.”
He also accused the Tories of “hypocrisy” for taking credit for saving the libraries despite proposing the initial closures in the first place.
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But the deputy leader of the council, councillor Samantha Rayner (Con: Eton & Castle), who is also lead member for residential services, refuted these remarks, saying this decision is not a U-turn and they never wanted to close libraries from the outset.
She explained the council was put in a position to find savings in order to balance this year’s accounts.
Cllr Rayner said: “It was only through going through this whole process of consultation and talking to our partners and working with charities, parish councils, but also reviewing the library service in a different way that we’re able to come up with this solid proposal we have today.
“That’s what a Conservative administration can do. They can deliver the libraries that people want, that we know they want, and there is no hypocrisy.
“I have never said I wanted any libraries to close. I’ve always said I wanted to keep all the libraries open.”
The leader of the council, councillor Andrew Johnson (Con: Hurley & Walthams), added they simply listened to residents and key stakeholders via the consultation and have acted upon it.
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