Page 6 - link magazine

Community News
6 swindonlink.com n September 2016
SE September 2016 Master Pages.indd
11 out of 15 Swindon libraries under threat
Save Swindon’s Libraries’ Helen Lucas and Sarah Church at The Children’s Fete
Eleven out of 15 libraries in for communities, said: “We are
Swindon could be closed by the end extremely fortunate in Swindon
of 2017. to have such a large number of
Swindon Council’s cabinet has put libraries, but with an increasing
the plans out to consultation in a amount of our budget being spent
bid to save £1.5m from the library on vulnerable people we cannot go
budget by 2020, which could see on as we are.”
all libraries in the Southern and Save Swindon’s Libraries chair
Eastern areas of Swindon under Sarah Church said: “The most
threat of closure. pressing concern in this strategy
According to the proposal there is the lack of a core library in
would be a core network of four the southern and eastern area of
libraries - Central, North, West and Swindon. Furthermore the reliance
Highworth - that would meet 74 on supplementing the core service
per cent of current visits and would with community-funded projects
ensure that 80 per cent of current will be a postcode lottery, with the
library users and 85 per cent of areas of highest social need most
Swindon’s households are within likely to lose out.”
two miles of a library. The 11 other • A £15,000 consultation leaflet
libraries will no longer be funded by is being sent out by the council
June 2017, the majority of which explaining the proposals for both
are in the south and east of the libraries and parishing. Residents
town. will have until 30 September to
Cllr Mary Martin, cabinet member respond with their views.
6 19/08/2016 12:01