Unpopular plans for Kirklees’ libraries are set to be axed as a new model is proposed for the future of the service.
Under the council’s original plans, eight of the borough’s 24 libraries – Honley, Meltham, Marsden, Kirkheaton, Skelmanthorpe, Denby Dale, Mirfield and Shepley – would become community-managed and run by volunteers.
In February, Kirklees Council agreed to begin exploring the feasibility of this model, and engagement was carried out with voluntary groups, members of the community, and staff. This demonstrated that people were “overwhelmingly” against the option.
Now, an alternative proposal has been put forward and will be voted on at next week’s Cabinet meeting on 10 September.
This would see the number of council staff working across all 24 libraries reduced – under previous proposals, all council staff would be removed from the eight libraries specified above. The eight libraries will also remain part of Kirklees Council’s statutory network.
The council says its required saving of £912k can still be achieved through its new proposal. The local authority will also continue to engage with community partners which were looking to pursue a community-managed model at their local library.
Before the latest model can be implemented, another period of consultation will be carried out which will last a minimum of eight weeks and begin in Autumn. The council expects the final proposal that emerges to come into force by April 2025, subject to the necessary approvals.
Councillor Amanda Pinnock, Cabinet Member for Education and Communities said: “We have a brilliant library service that goes above and beyond to support our communities in Kirklees.
“I want to thank everyone who has already engaged with us about the future of our libraries. Whilst we have taken into consideration feedback from community stakeholders on our original proposals, we still have difficult decisions to make due to the tough financial circumstances that all councils are facing.
“It’s clear that communities and local organisations want to retain a level of council support for their library and our plans will make sure that happens. We will continue to engage with residents, local groups and volunteers and I hope people will take part in our upcoming consultation in the autumn.”
Cabinet also previously approved plans to integrate library and customer service functions, with this still to go ahead as agreed. The move has already been completed at the Huddersfield and Dewsbury locations, with the closure of the two customer service centres, and will also be rolled out across a further eight locations.
