‘The beginning of the beginning’ (From Bucks Free Press)

‘The beginning of the beginning’

11:33am Wednesday 1st February 2006 in

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People who want to save eight small Buckinghamshire libraries face a daunting task.

The county council has given them until the end of May to submit plans to run them themselves.

THERE will be no financial help from the county council for eight libraries in Buckinghamshire.

That means finding volunteers to staff them and money from parish councils and businesses to pay for staff, rents and books or face losing the service altogether.

People have been protesting for three months against the closures and on Monday, January 24, the county council's cabinet retreated a bit and agreed the stay of execution for the libraries, including those at Micklefield, Chalfont St Giles, Little Chalfont and West Wycombe.

If workable plans are not forthcoming the libraries will close at the end of the summer and eventually be replaced by mobile libraries.

County Hall was packed with villagers to hear the debate. Afterwards they greeted the result with a mixture of gloom, caution, determination and optimism.

Among the relative pessimists was Tony Hoare who has lived in Chalfont St Giles and used the library since 1970.

He reckoned it would cost £50,000 a year to keep the library open. The Friends of the Library could raise £15,000, but £50,000 was a different matter. He objected to the council regarding the offer as a sort of lifeline.

"I understand they don't have any money and I believe they are unwilling to shut libraries.

"But don't dress this up as being a wonderful thing, because to keep it open we have to pay for everything rent, staff and contributions to the book fund. This is completely beyond the scope of a village of this size."

He said the Friends had not given up yet. But the timing of all this could not have come at a worse time in terms of getting money from parish councils.

They have mostly done their budgets for the coming financial year and cannot easily find thousands of pounds at the last minute to add to council tax bills.

In West Wycombe, where the village-centre library is under threat, the parish council decided last week it could not find the £11,000 needed.

Chairman Vicki Smith said the budget was agreed and was already £6,000 up on the current year. But she wants the building to remain in community use and said it could be an office for the parish clerk.

In Little Chalfont, campaign group chairman John Greensmith was more rude about the council, but more optimistic about the future.

He has lived in the village since 1990 and his family has used the library regularly. He said any savings would be minor and he feared more libraries would eventually close The idea in Little Chalfont is to set up a charitable trust to run it and widen use.

"We put in a fairly detailed report to Bob Strong (county librarian), who was very supportive."

He welcomed cabinet assurances that library officers should help the campaigners with their plans, but added: "There must have been other solutions rather than closure and a mobile library."

At Micklefield, campaigners plan to apply for money from a lottery fund being launched in the summer and to erect a new community building, incorporating the library.

Vice chairman of the Micklefield campaign Hazel Weatherill, who borrows books twice a week, said it was good news to have another five months.

"A great deal depends on funding and I am optimistic."

She said she couldn't see why Micklefield people had to lose their library so people in Aylesbury could have theirs open longer.

At West Wycombe, district Cllr Jean Teesdale chairs the campaign group whose members are busy looking for sources of cash.

She said there was no reason why the parish council and other organisations should not also use the building.

"But it will be a challenge."

On Monday people were told other counties including Devon, Lancashire, Surrey and Cambridgeshire were also proposing closures.

Margaret Dewar, the cabinet member responsible, said there was no way she wanted to close libraries.

"I like to think of this as the beginning of the beginning. Not the end," she said.

Council leader David Shakespeare said this was a pilot scheme and could be a way forward for other small libraries.

Eight libraries that could close:

Micklefield
West Wycombe
Little Chalfont
Chalfont St Giles
Iver
Richings Park
Steeple Claydon
Stewkley