In reply to the letter from ‘Name Supplied, Chingford’ published in the Guardian on March 6 regarding the South Chingford Community Library, we wish to comment as follows.

We attended the council meeting in November 2011 when the decision was announced to close South Chingford Library in Hall Lane. 

We had already signed various petitions to keep this library open but to no avail as the council had already decided to close this library along with Harrow Green Library. The  council had been in negotiations with staff at the library to close this library as early as summer 2011. At this meeting the council announced that they were prepared to let volunteers have the old Waltham Forest Direct shop  and give them some books but a decision had to be made that evening otherwise it would be withdrawn.  
The volunteers were expected to work three hours a week. Harrow Green was also offered premises. The ‘name supplied Chingford’ obviously has a grudge against SCCL volunteers as no mention has been made of the Harrow Green volunteers and all comments directed at SCCL. The jobs at the libraries would have gone away irrespective of whether or not SCCL is being run by volunteers.    
If volunteers had not been prepared to run a community library in the old WF Direct shop then this property would be empty  and add to already empty shops at Chingford Mount.
Some of the volunteers at the SCCL have full-time or part-time demanding jobs but are prepared to give up their weekends and some evenings to help get the library established and running.   They are not job thieves. All of the volunteers have worked  in their life time  and many are still working paying taxes.
What a sad life ‘name supplied Chingford’ must lead. Might we suggest he, she or it gets out and starts living a productive life instead of being insulting to people who are trying to improve the community and care about their fellow human beings.


B Peck and M Reynolds,
Frances Road,
Chingford.