Nine Liberal Democrat county councillors have hit back against Conservative plans to allow a private company to take over the third floor of Cambridge Central Library – plans that were voted through by an unholy alliance of UKIP and Conservative councillors plus Cambridge’s one independent councillor, John Hipkin. The Lib Dems have called for the decision to be reconsidered so that councillors can be fully informed about this company and so that consultation with the public can be carried out.

Our request for a review of the decision has been successful and it will be looked at again by a committee of senior councillors on 14th April (10am at Shire Hall). Councillors do not know enough about KORA, the company set to take over the third floor and before we take a decision like this, we need much more information is needed both about them and about how they would be operating: for example, would people have to pay to sit and read in that part of the library under their management in future? We are also also angry that despite the talks having started over 18 months ago, library users were not given a say before such a huge change was agreed. It is after all a PUBLIC library.

There are strong objections to the loss of library space for the public as well as concerns about the Cambridgeshire Collection and the library café.

The General Purposes Committee is being asked to:

“…consider the decision and either:
i) Dismiss the decision review request with the effect that the original decision shall stand, or
ii) Refer the decision back to the Highways and Community Infrastructure Committee for re-consideration including a recommendation from General Purposes Committee.”

For the full report click here.GPC library call-in_150414-3a

The committee will also receive a 3,000-signature public petition against the proposals.

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