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Barlby and Osgodby parish councillor says library should close
A PROMINENT former councillor says a village library should be shut down, despite a vote for it to remain open.
Alan Hartley, a past member of Barlby and Osgodby Parish Council, says the local authority hasn’t got a mandate to keep the library, despite an overwhelming vote in favour in a ballot of local homes.
Mr Hartley added: “To say it has got the backing of the people is absolute balderdash.”
The library was due for closure under North Yorkshire County Council cuts. However, the parish council is currently preparing a business plan with a view to taking the service over and using the building as a combined library and community centre.
Mr Hartley said if Barlby Library was well used, he might take a different stance, but it isn’t.
He states of the 5,000 questionnaires sent out to each home in Barlby, Barlby Bridge and Osgodby, only 200 replies were received. Of the 200, some 90 per cent were in favour of retaining the library.
But he argued: “That doesn’t mean the people of this parish want the library. They can get 200 replies of people within walking distance of the library. But I live in Barlby – the north end – and we’re two miles away from it. My wife goes to Selby Library.
“For people in Osgodby, it’s a bus ride away – they might as well go to Selby where there’s more books and more choice.
“And for people in Barlby Bridge, they can even walk to Selby. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
He said the existing library was only open 13 hours a week and was little used.
“It’s an under-used resource which doesn’t need keeping,” he added.
Mr Hartley said many other people shared his view in the village but were “too lazy” to fill in the questionnaire.
Parish council chairman Coun Brian Marshall was unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.
But he has previously stated he wants the library to remain open. He considers it well-used and vital for children who don’t have computers.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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