There a report on BNCTV of a meeting between Kensal Rise Community Library campaigners and the Council LINK.
In his interview Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council,says that if the freehold of the Kensal Rise building remained with Brent Council, despite being run by volunteers, as the campaigners had requested, it would be a problem. It would be adding a seventh library to the six remaining in Brent and open the way for Preston and other campaigners to make a similar request. .He goes on to say that as the Libraries Transformation Project is based on six libraries this would undermine the whole Project.
For the campaigners a sticking point is the removal of books from the library. If they are removed by the Council could it lose its designation as a library?
Have a look at the video and see what you think.
In his interview Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council,says that if the freehold of the Kensal Rise building remained with Brent Council, despite being run by volunteers, as the campaigners had requested, it would be a problem. It would be adding a seventh library to the six remaining in Brent and open the way for Preston and other campaigners to make a similar request. .He goes on to say that as the Libraries Transformation Project is based on six libraries this would undermine the whole Project.
For the campaigners a sticking point is the removal of books from the library. If they are removed by the Council could it lose its designation as a library?
Have a look at the video and see what you think.
6 comments:
How ridiculous can he be?! Isn't the Transformation Project about ensuring that Brent residents get a high quality service from libraries, not a general, poor service. Hence the justification of closing half of the libraries. Yet, in the absurdity of it all, Brent are closing a further couple of libraries, and Brent's residents are not getting a high quality service. Pop Up libraries like Barham are showing the capability of community run libraries. Perhaps worth inviting some top Lab politicians down to Brent to show what communities are having to do due to ConDem cuts. This will show Brent Labour as being outof touch too
Does Muhammed Butt not realise Brent Council cannot hold a freehold title to any building.
Contact Muhammed Butt and ask him who owns the land under Willesden Green library. If he says the people of Brent own it, demand to see your name on the paperwork. This paperwork does not exist, nor does your right over this land he claims is yours.
Protest all you like, because protest is a legal act of acceptance to what you're trying to reject.
The books that Brent Council want to remove from the library in peace belong to Brent Council, not you the residents of Brent. If they were your books, how could the Council take them from you?
You work for Brent Council, they don't work for you. Local Councillors are known as "members of the council" These individuals do not work for you, they work for those who granted them membership (Brent Council) and pay them a salary (Brent Council)
The Local Don.
Very droll!
Where do Brent Council get their money? I think you will find it is from council tax payers - us (possibly topped up by brown envelopes?
They have certainly forgotten that they are supposed to be public SERVANTS.
A cocktail of arrogance and incompetence for which we are paying the price!
If I understand recent news reports correctly, Brent has already handed back the Kensal Rise library building and the land it stands on to All Souls College. The College made a gift of the land to Willesden Urban District on condition that it should be used solely for a public library, and statements from All Souls reported in the local press suggest that they have no other use for the building, and would be receptive to it being used as a library, the purpose it was designed for.
I hope that the Kensal Rise campaigners can reach an agreement with All Souls College, with or without the support of Cllr. Butt and the Council, which allows them to take over Kensal Rise Library and run it as a charitable community public library. As a goodwill gesture, Brent could donate the existing stock of books in the building to the new venture (whether they do this remains to be seen, but I believe many Councillors feel that the Executive mishandled the whole libraries issue, and would be sympathetic to the idea).
I am sure that a community run library in Kensal Rise would be a success, illustrating that people need neighbourhood libraries, particularly parents with young children and many older people. This would disprove Sue McKenzie's "vision" for what the future of Brent's libraries should be, embodied in the Transformation Plan that she managed to get pushed through despite the wishes of the Borough's residents. If she feels uncomfortable with that, she can take her ideas elsewhere, and good riddance!
does sue mckenzie live in brent? if so, whats her local library?
No she lives in leafy south London suburb.
Ms McKenzie had always wanted to close libraries from the moment she was in the post saying she could run a much better service with 8 instead of 12 libraries. She must be singing in the shower every morning at her success,getting rid of all those annoying old buildings full of irritating books and worse, the people of Brent.
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