Council bosses have been told to reconsider their decision to move the Ulverston Library service to Coronation Hall.
Members of the communities and environment scrutiny committee for Westmorland and Furness Council recommended the cabinet reconsider its decision to permanently relocate the town’s library service from the King’s Road building to the Coronation Hall.
Last month, the cabinet approved a recommendation which declared the currently closed building on King’s Road surplus to existing operational needs.
Five councillors called the decision in for review after Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham said she had secured funds to make renovations to the original library building and due to ‘community concerns’ regarding the transparency of the consultation process.
Committee chair councillor Eamonn Hennessy said on behalf of the committee: “We agreed that whilst cabinet acted reasonably by not deferring the decision upon considering all the information available at the time, the consultation itself was not fair and transparent and therefore the committee recommend that cabinet reconsider this decision.”
The committee recommended additional consultation with key stakeholders be carried out, formal conversations take place around additional funding and support and a review is also undertaken regarding future consultations carried out by the council.
Cabinet member for sustainable communities and localities councillor Virginia Taylor said: “In this consultation, we did not offer choices which we could not fund.
“As a responsible authority, we have to live within our means, plan for the future and demonstrate value for money in everything we do and so the consultation provided views only on option seven as the preferred option.”
Cllr Taylor told the committee that inviting views on other options which did not meet the key objectives would have been misleading and misrepresentative.
However, Councillor Beverly Morgan (Ormsgill and Parkside, Labour) called the consultation on the library proposals more of an information sharing process which involved telling, not listening.
Cllr Morgan said: “I don’t believe it was a consultation exercise in the true sense of any quality and has been riddled with pitfalls of poor communication.”
Mrs Scrogham told the committee at a meeting with GlaxoSmithKline she had asked about the possibility of leaving a lasting legacy for Ulverston with a GSK library and they were very pleased to support the proposal.
The Labour MP added after the meeting with GSK she contacted the cabinet to inform them she had secured full funding for the refurbishment of the King’s Road library building.
Mrs Scrogham said: “The substantial private funding fundamentally changes the business case considered by cabinet on September 10.
“I ask that this committee votes to ensure that all options are freely and fully discussed so we do not lose the opportunity at a time when public funding is under such enormous pressure.
“Any other decision would be a terrible dereliction of duty.”
Cllr Taylor said: “At the risk of labouring the point, capital funding for King’s Road does not address the needs of the library or the long-term future of the Coro.
“Even after investing in improvements to the Coro such as the café bar and more flexible community spaces, the business case is clear, the Coro will still need something else to drive and increase footfall and income potential to ensure the venue remains viable long-term.”
Members of the scrutiny committee recommended the cabinet reconsider their decision on October 8 at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston.
