Crystal Palace Local

Lambeth respond to Croydon's ultimatum over library

by Jerry Green

GET BACK ROUND the negotiating table to find a way to save Upper Norwood joint library - that's Lambeth council's response to Croydon council's ultimatum over the country's only independent library.  

Lambeth are now proposing a new option to save the library on Westow Hill in line with a deal which they say "has secured the future of every single library in Lambeth".

Under Lambeth’s proposals, both councils would work with local community and library-user groups in Upper Norwood to hand control over the library service and, potentially, ownership of the building to them.  Funding would be guaranteed by the councils whose residents use the library, with decisions over how to spend it taken by local people.

In a joint statement issued by the office of Lambeth's chief executive,  council leader Cllr Steve Reed and Lambeth’s cabinet member for culture Cllr Florence Nosegbe said: “Croydon’s Tories must put down the gun they have pointed at the head of the community in Upper Norwood.  "We urge Cllr Mike Fisher (Croydon council leader) and his Tory friends to abandon their destructive closure plans and sit down with us and the local community to find a way to protect this much-loved library for future generations.”

The statement continues: "In their latest letter to Lambeth council, Croydon’s Conservatives told Lambeth to accept one of three options, each of which would result in the closure of the popular community library". Labour-led Lambeth has rejected all three options and claims that Croydon, in contrast, is  "planning to close several of their libraries and privatise the rest" says the statement.

New figures released in the wake of last Wednesday's public meeting show that 73 per cent of the library's users come from Croydon and Lambeth boroughs: Bromley: 14.3pc; Croydon: 42.5pc; Lambeth: 30.5pc; Lewisham: 3.5pc; Southwark: 8.5pc; others: 0.7pc

In a joint statement Upper Norwood Library Campaign secretary Pam Gray and Crystal Palace Community Association chairman John Payne said: "We ask that Croydon and Lambeth engage in constructive and transparent discussions that would ensure the future of the library and guarantee its place at the heart of the community".

Croydon's Labour opposition leader Cllr Tony Newman said,"Croydon's Labour councillors warmly welcome Lambeth’s positive proposals to secure the future of the UNJL and the exciting plans for the community to have real control over how their local library service is provided. "I urge Cllr Fisher to join us in welcoming these proposals, to match Lambeth’s funding and to put the library and local people first."

Bromley Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Tom Papworth, who represents Crystal Palace ward, responding to Croydon's original ultimatum, said: "For residents of Crystal Palace, it is another blow alongside the decision of Bromley's Tories to close Anerley Library. "People in the area now risk losing both the local libraries, leaving them miles from any local library provision. "This is a real shame, but I don't agree that it counts as 'a shock announcement' - Croydon have been thinking about doing this for some time."

NOTE: In the story of last week's meeting I reported that John Payne repeated his allegation - also made at the annual meeting of UNIT (Upper Norwood Improvement Team) - that Croydon knew Lambeth councillors would not be attending the annual meeting of the library committee.

At last week's public meeting he said:  "Florence will confirm she had spoken to her counterpart in Croydon and informed her they would not be attending". Cllr Nosegbe did not respond to this comment and was not asked about it in the meeting.

Cllr Nosegbe left early for another meeting and I spoke to her outside. She confirmed she had spoken to Cllr Bashford on the day of the abandoned annual committee meeting (see previous stories) although both give a differing view of what was said. I could not report this beforehand as it was hearsay.

BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS - Upper Norwood Joint Library

THOSE ATTENDING the public meeting held in the Salvation Army centre last week may not have realised that some of the revelations made were actually being aired for the first time.

Many will have heard Graham Pycock, who was chairman of the Upper Norwood library joint committee in 2006-07, reveal that an unnamed cabinet member of an unnamed borough "deliberately sabotaged" meetings that were booked between both councils.

He'd never said that publicly before. (What may surprise those of you who have never heard of Graham Pycock is that he was a Lambeth CONSERVATIVE councillor for Gipsy Hill ward until the last council elections).

The SECOND revelation came when Cllr Florence Nosegbe, Labour's cabinet member for for culture, sport and the 2012 Olympics, who would have sat/would still sit on the library committee, revealed that attempts to hold a behind-the-scenes meeting between Croydon and Lambeth had been cancelled by Croydon.

At the centre of this is a belief among some people that Croydon have been trying to pull out of the joint agreement for some time. Back in 2006 the committee agreed that of the four representatives from both councils, one should be the cabinet member responsible for libraries in that borough, and at least one other should be an elected local ward councillor. Lambeth approved it at a full meeting of the council. Croydon, then under Labour control, agreed it under delegated powers.

Everything was fine until the Conservatives, retaking control of Croydon council in 2010, lost all the council wards in the Croydon North parliamentary constituency which includes the Upper Norwood and South Norwood wards whose boundaries meet on Church Road. That would give Labour a majority on the library committee - but it has to be said here and now that at the many committee meetings I attended councillors from both boroughs and both parties usually put the library first. Until last year.

Croydon's Tories then came up with the argument that only Croydon cabinet members could sit on the committee. It appears Croydon cabinet members sit on other committees involving other boroughs such as the Lewisham and Croydon street lighting board.

The chairmanship of the library joint committee has traditionally alternated yearly - and until Croydon's carpetbaggers turned up to last year's annual meeting held in the same room where last week's standing room only meeting took place - it always has.

History shows that Lambeth's Conservative nominees have traditionally been very protective of the library - even objecting to one particular Croydon Conservative councillor from becoming chairman one year!

In July 1983 the Croydon Advertiser reported that Lambeth councillors - including at least one Conservative - had vetoed the appointment of Croydon councillor Beryl Saunders as committee chairman. The meeting, the paper reported, 'ended in confusion'.

In January and/or February of 1983 Mrs Saunders, chairman of Croydon's libraries committee, had supported proposed cuts of £30,000 to the library spread over three years - proposals which were axed in March.

After the July 1983 meeting outgoing chairman ex-Mayor Cllr Hugh Chambers (Con Lambeth) told the Croydon Advertiser: "We are not doing this to be awkward but because we have definite ideas about how this library should be run which don't happen to coincide with those of our colleagues from Croydon."

Against the background of all this there has been one long-running argument about how much it costs to run the joint library in relation to other branch libraries in Croydon and Lambeth. Croydon's Labour opposition have said that if they retake control of Croydon in 2014 they will run all Croydon's branch libraries on the Upper Norwood model - and reinstate the joint library agreement if necessary.

There has also been a longer-running argument involving under-funding of the library in Westow Hill by one borough or the other. 

In 2011 what's been going on behind the scenes is moves by Croydon to privatise their library services. But they can't do that with Upper Norwood joint library in the equation. Earlier this year Croydon announced plans to shut six of their 13 libraries and put the idea out for "consultation".. There's no mention of a move to privatisation.
The plans caused uproar in Croydon. A press release in September announced that "Croydon is looking to work jointly with Wandsworth council to carry out a tendering process to find an external organisation to run libraries in both boroughs - but without any mention of "consultation". 

Last week's meeting at the Salvation Army centre heard that one American company - LSSI - had already pulled out. Because Croydon want whoever takes over the libraries to run them at half the cost which Croydon are currently running them at and this, ironically, is more in line with Upper Norwood funding!

Here's a thought. The (neighbouring) boroughs of Bexley and Bromley have announced plans to merge their libraries backroom staff and support services. Maybe - if Croydon cannot get any takers to run their services - Croydon and Lambeth could, as NEIGHBOURING  boroughs, get together and do something similar.
Now there's a thought......... .

NOTE: A report in The Independent (28th November 2011) about LSSI states that the the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee have launched an inquiry into public library closures. The Committee is inviting written submissions and requesting views on the following issues: what constitutes a comprehensive and efficient library service for the 21st century the extent to which planned library closures are compatible with the requirements of the Libraries & Museums Act 1964 and the Charteris Report the impact library closures have on local communities the effectiveness of the Secretary of State's powers of intervention under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964

Commons inquiry: how to submit evidence

A copy of any submission should be sent by e-mail to:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

and have 'Library closures' in the subject line. Submissions should be received by Thursday 12th January

FURTHER READING

This website:

December 2011:200 PEOPLE BACK CALL TO KEEP LIBRARY GOING -NEW REVELATIONS OVER ABANDONED LIBRARY MEETING

November 2011: Background to Croydon's takeover of UNJL
Croydon's actions over library 'wrong in law' say Lambeth
Crouyydon tear up library agreement - staff not told in advance

October 2011: Library meeting ends in chaos

July 2010: UNJL - Mock The Week

February 2010: UNJL to close - fact or fiction?
UNJL Charter

January 2010: Years of underfunding at UNJL

Croydon council press release September 12 2011 "Safeguarding Croydon's libraries"