Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford launches campaign to keep libraries open

Dec 3 2008 by Carrie Catterall, Heswall News

AN EMERGENCY campaign to save Wirral libraries has been launched by West Wirral MP Stephen Hesford.

The MP launched his bid to keep the facilities open after a “fraught” meeting held last Thursday between Wirral MPs, senior councillors and officers of the authority.

They discussed council plans to close 14 libraries, two museums, Pacific Road Arts Centre, and other council buildings.

The authority wants to modernise its services and invest £20m in new “multi-purpose” centres which it said would better meet the needs of the borough’s population.

Mr Hesford said: “I expressed real anger at both the way the announcement had been made and also the way this so-called asset review has been conducted - it is quite unacceptable.”

The MP said he demanded that a halt be called to the library closure programme so that a “rethink” could be agreed, but councillors refused.

At a bad-tempered meeting of Wirral Council’s cabinet meeting last week, council chief executive Steve Maddox said: “The library estates will be reduced significantly and in terms of sport and leisure sites they will be fewer but better as they will be tailored to meet the needs of the community. Unless we do something these facilities will not survive.”

Mr Hesford’s Sign up and Save It campaign aims to get as many people as possible to sign up to their local library.

Mr Hesford added: “This so-called strategic assets review is nothing less than wholesale slaughter of local services.

“It is completely indefensible, which is why I am urging all my constituents to show how much they need and value their local library or leisure centre by joining my Sign Up and Save It campaign.

“We are distributing 15,000 leaflets and want everybody to act now.

“There’s more than a little bit of hope that we can save these services - I’m determined to win this fight.”

l Read our special report on last week’s cabinet meeting on page 12.