Changes to library opening hours in Telford & Wrekin

Libraries in Donnington and Hadley will see their opening hours reduced and Oakengates library turned into part self service as the council looks to save £40 million by 2014.

Late last year Telford & Wrekin Council contacted parish and town councils to see if they would want to work co-operatively with the Council and help maintain opening hours at neighbourhood libraries in, Dawley, Donnington, Hadley, Oakengates and Stirchley.

Telford & Wrekin Council had proposed reducing each neighbourhood library’s opening hours rather than make library closures to reduce staff costs to help save money following unprecedented cuts in Government funding.

Great Dawley Parish Council offered funding to help maintain Dawley library’s opening to 21 hours a week. This library’s hours had been proposed to reduce to 16 hours a week.

At Stirchley library, Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council is also looking into the possibility of co-locating its offices there, helping it to save money and to share the running costs of the library with the Council.

This library is still proposing to reduce its staffed opening hours from 27 hours to 16 hours, however with the parish council sharing the building this would allow the library to be open for longer unstaffed and to run a “self-serve” library service outside of these hours.

The library service’s review also shows that reductions in library opening hours are now proposed to go ahead at Donnington (21 to 16 hours), Hadley (27 to 16 hours) and Oakengates (42 to 16 staffed hours). At Oakengates a self serve option will be available outside of these times as the library is part of Oakengates Theatre and theatre staff will be able to support the public gaining access to books even though the librarians won’t always be there.

The Council’s main libraries at Madeley and Wellington will increase hours slightly while Newport will reduce slightly. The Council’s main Telford library will move to a new temporary location later this year as part of the Southwater redevelopment before moving into new premises in the Community Hub building in 2014.

Cllr Arnold England, cabinet member for Leisure and Wellbeing, said: “Given the scale of savings we face we have no choice but to find ways of making savings in our library service and I am pleased that we are in a position where, unlike many other councils across the country, none of our libraries are closing.

“It’s great to see that our co-operative council approach has borne fruit and we are extremely grateful to Great Dawley Parish Council for their support in helping to protect and maintain library services in their parish and are confident that we can build on this further in the future.”

Cllr Brian Duce, chairman of Great Dawley Parish Council, said: “We recognise the importance of this service in the community and the very difficult financial situation that Telford & Wrekin faces where it has to make savings.

“Our council has therefore voted to provide funding for two years to ensure that Dawley library remains a well-used and much loved service for local people until a new library opens as part of the Dawley regeneration.”