The library was saved because of the massive local opposition to the Council’s proposal to convert our library into a gym (with a few books and no staff), leaving Durning as the single public library in the north of the borough. That opposition was registered in the public consultation in the final weeks of last year.
Here are the figures for answers to the consultation –
Total qualifying responses in the consultation numbered 1,794 – made up of 1,461 paper responses and 333 online responses
The 1,461 paper responses were made up of 1,223 collected at TSL and 207 at Durning Library.
The consultation also included :
402 street surveys (204 in the vicinity of TSL and 198 near Durning) and two focus group sessions, with participants in the DTVIP programme for the visually impaired, at TSL, and with members of the Portuguese community.
– and here are the results
The result of the questionnaire responses was overwhelming opposition to the Council’s proposals to make Durning the temporary town centre library [question 1] and TSL into a ”healthy living centre” [question 2].
To Question 1 76% were against: to Question 2 84% were against – that’s more than 4 out of 5.
Of a total of 1,223 paper responses handed in at our library, 1,186 were against the proposal relating to TSL – put another way, 19 out of 20 said no. These 1,186 no votes responses were the deciding factor.
The street survey results were more even, with Question 1 showing 46% for and 31% against and Question 2 showing 29% for and 50% against. Both focus groups came out virtually 100% against.
So a comprehensive thumbs down.
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