Lambeth Council considering moving Lambeth Archives from Minet Library to Brixton Library

[Tricky Skills]

That's a hit for the Upper Norwood Library -- I hope it manages to survive in some form but it is only currently open two days a week.

Especially so given all the political posturing that has been made using the library to score points. The Lambeth Labour argument that it would fund the library, whereas the Tories across the border wouldn't, seems a little shallow now.

 

[Gramsci]

As we predicted at the start of the week - Lambeth Council is proposing to move the Lambeth Archives over to Brixton.

But it's worse.

MUCH worse...

The Council wants to sell the Minet and Waterloo. Funding will also be stopped for three other libraries in the borough.

Elsewhere and there is the need to pimp out parks more for private events.

MASSIVE consultation to wade through.

BBuzz piece.

The consultation is also about the Rec and sports centres as well. Just been notified about this. Not clear at this time exactly what this will mean re the Rec and the other sports centres. Looks like the Rec is safe.

As you say its massive about of info to get through.

 

[brixtonblade]

Have only gone through the leaflet and havent read all the supporting info but a couple of things leap out:
- The park budget cut is huge in both absolute and percentage terms. The leaflet only seems to talk about "locally managing" the parks and having more events in them though - I dont really see how that could make aenough of an impact to stop the funding reductin being very bad news.
- The size of the budget cut seems to be a given - is that really the case? Couldnt they increase council tax? Or make cuts somewhere else (although I guess that that wouldnt neccessarily be "better")

 

[leanderman]

Have only gone through the leaflet and havent read all the supporting info but a couple of things leap out:
- The park budget cut is huge in both absolute and percentage terms. The leaflet only seems to talk about "locally managing" the parks and having more events in them though - I dont really see how that could make aenough of an impact to stop the funding reductin being very bad news.
- The size of the budget cut seems to be a given - is that really the case? Couldnt they increase council tax? Or make cuts somewhere else (although I guess that that wouldnt neccessarily be "better")

This Government will not allow them to raise council tax by more 1.99 per cent.

It's an impossible situation.

 

[Tricky Skills]

Council Tax is rising 1.99% over the next three years. We've got a BBuzz piece on that tomorrow

This alone though will only bring in £5.7m over a three year period.

The size of the budget cuts can only really be confirmed for the forthcoming year - an £18m cut from Westminster.

 

[se5]

This Government will not allow them to raise council tax by more 1.99 per cent.

It's an impossible situation.

The Tory/Lib Dem government have imposed the cap across England - councils can increase it by 2% or more if they have a local referendum to approve the increase but most politicians in Lambeth (or anywhere else for that matter) dont have the guts to make the case for increases and would fear losing any referendum (plus the cost of the referendum is hard to justify when making cuts and central govt would probably find some other way to restrict the increase).

And of course our glorious Labour council made a pledge in its manifesto that it would minimise council tax increases regardless of the need for services

 

[Tricky Skills]

Here's the BBuzz piece on the 1.99% Council Tax rise - the first in six years for the borough.

Gosh. I sound like a Labour PR bod

 

[brixtonblade]

Thats pretty miserable reading - those overruns are pretty big. How big is the defecit that they are running? £25m reserves doesnt sound big.

 

[Rushy]

The collection rate was interesting. I have always thought the council was hot on collection. But a woman who was renting from me for six years recently moved out with about 4 years of council tax arrears. It appears that she had sub let a room for a short while, put the council tax in that person's name, didn't change it after he moved out and never paid. He had a whole load of threatening mail and most likely a couple of ccjs against him as a result but no one actually investigated until recently. It seems a bit toothless. It seems that she did the same with electric and gas. Gas only turned up on the day after she moved out to shut off the supply.

 

[boohoo]

Rushy Doing a bit of maths, it seems to be 6 million quid of unclaimed council tax - that's a lot!

 

[Rushy]

Rushy Doing a bit of maths, it seems to be 6 million quid of unclaimed council tax - that's a lot!

She owed quite a bit but it wasn't quite that much.

 

[boohoo]

She owed quite a bit but it wasn't quite that much.

Sorry I meant overall - looking at the Bbuzz article.

 

[Rushy]

Sorry I meant overall - looking at the Bbuzz article.

It certainly looks like she wasn't the only one at it.

 

[CH1]

Here's the BBuzz piece on the 1.99% Council Tax rise - the first in six years for the borough.

Seems to be a mistake in the BBuzz piece.
Current rates are:
Council tax 2014/15
A £816.19
B £952.23
C £1,088.26
D £1,224.29
E £1,496.35
F £1,768.42
G £2,040.48
H £2,448.58

BBuzz says: "The Cabinet will consider the first Council Tax rise in six years when it meets at the Town Hall on 9 February. The increase will lead to a Band D property rising from £925.29 per year to £943.70."

Shome mishtake here surely?

 

[Tricky Skills]

Seems to be a mistake in the BBuzz piece.
Current rates are:
Council tax 2014/15
A £816.19
B £952.23
C £1,088.26
D £1,224.29
E £1,496.35
F £1,768.42
G £2,040.48
H £2,448.58

BBuzz says: "The Cabinet will consider the first Council Tax rise in six years when it meets at the Town Hall on 9 February. The increase will lead to a Band D property rising from £925.29 per year to £943.70."

Shome mishtake here surely?

The figures quoted are the Lambeth Council level of Council Tax. The extra amount comes from various precept add ons.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

I don't have a problem with moving the Lambeth Archives from Minet Library if it's in the best interest of the archive itself and the staff which run it (and the library.)

For me the problem is the continual sale of public assets. They are ours. They belong to all of us, for the benefit of all of us. You can only sell them once, then they're gone forever.

 

[boohoo]

I don't have a problem with moving the Lambeth Archives from Minet Library if it's in the best interest of the archive itself and the staff which run it (and the library.)

For me the problem is the continual sale of public assets. They are ours. They belong to all of us, for the benefit of all of us. You can only sell them once, then they're gone forever.

My concern for moving the archives is if it is an excuse to reduce staff and service. The staff at Croydon archives seem to spend a lot of time managing volunteers. The archives collection of books to look at are great - there is nothing like it at Croydon. They also seem to have mislaid a Victorian photo album. Their services were reduced and it's noticeable.

Selling community assets is crap - I've seen it happen in Hackney. It's happening out in the suburbs too. (Anerley Town Hall under threat - Bromley Council want to sell it for residential use)

 

[Gramsci]

Saw this in Brixton Blog

 

[VickyP]

In the glossy brochure http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/cultural-services-by-2020.pdf the archive doesn't get a mention until page 25, and then the move to Brixton library is not a done deal, there's still a feasibility study to do...

"We will continue to work closely with the Black Cultural Archives and, following a feasibility study, may propose moving the borough archives from Minet Library to Brixton Library. Brixton would be the destination for anyone interested in archives or information on heritage in the borough."

Unsurprisingly the Archive relocation is on the risk summary http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/lambeth-future-of-cultural-services-risk-summary.pdf

"What is the Risk and when could it happen?: Lambeth archives relocation Funding (capital and revenue) plus feasible site for relocation fails to be found.
What will we do if this happens? : Community challenge to relocation Options appraisal will be completed which investigates the feasibility of multiple sites. Feasibility will also review investment required and where this could come from.
What could be the result if we fail to rectify the risk?: Out of borough storage and front of house provision will be explored in a fit for purpose facility as required."

So Minet is going to be sold off but they haven't got a solid plan on what exactly is going to happen to the archive, where it's going to go, and who's going to pay for it.

 

[Greebo]

<snip> Minet is going to be sold off but they haven't got a solid plan on what exactly is going to happen to the archive, where it's going to go, and who's going to pay for it.

How utterly typical of what I'd expect of Lambeth.

 

[Gramsci]

In the glossy brochure http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/cultural-services-by-2020.pdf the archive doesn't get a mention until page 25, and then the move to Brixton library is not a done deal, there's still a feasibility study to do...

"We will continue to work closely with the Black Cultural Archives and, following a feasibility study, may propose moving the borough archives from Minet Library to Brixton Library. Brixton would be the destination for anyone interested in archives or information on heritage in the borough."

Unsurprisingly the Archive relocation is on the risk summary http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/cultural-services-by-2020.pdf

"What is the Risk and when could it happen?: Lambeth archives relocation Funding (capital and revenue) plus feasible site for relocation fails to be found.
What will we do if this happens? : Community challenge to relocation Options appraisal will be completed which investigates the feasibility of multiple sites. Feasibility will also review investment required and where this could come from.
What could be the result if we fail to rectify the risk?: Out of borough storage and front of house provision will be explored in a fit for purpose facility as required."

So Minet is going to be sold off but they haven't got a solid plan on what exactly is going to happen to the archive, where it's going to go, and who's going to pay for it.

Is the second link correct? Its the same as the first one and I do not know where the quotes about risk come from.

 

[editor]

Two pieces publicising the threat to libraries:
Minet Library under threat: show your support on National Libraries Day, 7th February
Save Lambeth Libraries – online petition launched on change.org

 

[VickyP]

Is the second link correct? Its the same as the first one and I do not know where the quotes about risk come from.

Apologies, it's this one (and post has been corrected) http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/lambeth-future-of-cultural-services-risk-summary.pdf

 

[editor]

Apologies, it's this one (and post has been corrected) http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/lambeth-future-of-cultural-services-risk-summary.pdf

WTF?

Soft market testing of leisure operators to be carried out to ensure that the service specification delivers value for money

 

[Gramsci]

Apologies, it's this one (and post has been corrected) http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/lambeth-future-of-cultural-services-risk-summary.pdf

Thanks for this and your informative posts.

 

[lang rabbie]

I've always feared that Lambeth's commitment to fund a new home for the BCA was not affordable along with ongoing funding for the Minet Archives in their backwater site - hence my post of 2006 on one of the BCA threads:

Personally, I'd like to see a much more ambitious development on the site, integrating the BCA (and/or the archive collections of the Anti-Slavery Society held just up the road) with a new museum and archives for the borough to replace the Minet Archives.

 

[lang rabbie]

I do recall someone who worked at the Minet archives saying that a lot of people who visited to do family history research used to drive there from all over the Home Counties and it was the only good archives in central London not in a CPZ.

[Am I right in thinking that streets around the Minet are still outside Brixton and Camberwell Controlled Parking Zones?]

Another former member of Lambeth libraries staff noted that the archives users were painfully white and many drove in because they were scared of using public transport via Brixton. I think this may be a bit of a simplification by someone rehearsing their prejudices - most family history researchers are retired people and it IS a heck of a walk from Brixton or Loughborough Junction stations to the Minet.

 

[CH1]

Another former member of Lambeth libraries staff noted that the archives users were painfully white and many drove in because they were scared of using public transport via Brixton. I think this may be a bit of a simplification by someone rehearsing their prejudices - most family history researchers are retired people and it IS a heck of a walk from Brixton or Loughborough Junction stations to the Minet.

This sounds a bit extreme - are we talking 2014 or 1984?

 

[grosun]

Actually, here we go:

Hmm, sadly it doesn't seem as fully sorted as that tweet makes out, according to Friends of West Norwood Library:

http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=bf4a0a7ae35c9cac2949cc683&id=3625f121ac&e=dda4efc51d

The fallback option of Picturehouse running the library themselves seems like a very odd idea indeed.

To be fair to the council, they do say that they rejected the notion of a supermarket taking over the building in 2012, so hopefully that thinking will carry forwards.

 

[CH1]

The fallback option of Picturehouse running the library themselves seems like a very odd idea indeed.

It would become another Lambeth first - the only library to actively encourage noisy eating and drinking.