Councillors, is it worth risking your seat? (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Councillors, is it worth risking your seat?

4:39pm Thursday 1st October 2009

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By Janet Wright »

Waltham Forest councillors, be warned: selling off St James Street Library could cost you your seat. More than 2,000 people signed a petition to get the library reopened, while no councillor in Waltham Forest got more than 1500 votes in the last election. And with a group of independents now looking at standing in next year’s elections, voters at last will have a real choice.

The council’s Labour group tried last month to force St James Street Library onto a list of buildings for sale. Campaigners fear they may seize another next chance at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting [6 October].

“This is crunch time,” says St James Street Library Campaign, which was formed after the council closed the library without warning in 2007. As a member of the campaign, I know that local residents want our library reopened. And a sale at today’s low property prices will short-change all the borough’s council-tax payers.

Last month, Cllr John Macklin was due to present the cabinet – the 10 councillors who decide policy -- with a list of buildings that could be sold. St James Street library did not appear on the list. Before the meeting, all the Labour cabinet members tried to force through an amendment adding St James Street library to the list. Cllr Macklin refused, and withdrew the report. But it was only deferred to the 6 October meeting, so will we see another attempt then?

St James Street Library Campaign is calling for the building, in Coppermill Lane, to be returned to community use. It was the only community facility in a large area, and people want it back. We have offered many times to work with the council on reopening the library for community use, and are still willing to do so.

Councillors have no right to dispose of the borough’s assets when prices are so low. They can’t pretend they urgently need money for services – they voted themselves a £210,000 pay rise when they closed our library in 2007, and that’s three times more than the library cost to run. The council should not even be considering sales that will only benefit the developers who buy our prime sites.

So wherever you live in Waltham Forest, don’t feel helpless in the face of this council’s endless attacks on Walthamstow. Ask your councillor for a definite commitment, now, to reopening St James Street and restoring the sadly depleted book stocks at the borough’s other libraries.

Don’t accept any waffle about looking into it after the election. They don’t need your vote after the election!