Notice Board

Collingham Comment

Just Say No

JUST SAY NO!

Collingham is under attack!

This may be the first time since the Vikings first sailed up the river Trent that Collingham has been pillaged, but it is no less traumatic and strikes deep at the heart of the village, and village life! Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) wishes to practically close our Library, and to close our Fire Station completely! I would love to be able to say these moves were ill thought out, but I can’t, as it’s fairly obvious they haven’t been thought out at all!

If you would like to read the proposals being put forward by NCC with regard to the library Click Here.

I shall briefly translate the main points of the document;

‘Communities to get big say in the future of their libraries’. Translated this means; we need to save money so we are going to remove as much of the service as we think we can get away with.

‘Developing partnerships’ Translated; you can try and maintain the service if you like, but don’t expect any support from NCC.

“We don’t have a specific ‘one-size-fits-all’ model in mind at all for these partnerships…”. No, we have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model in mind for at least twenty-eight of them, regardless of the wishes of the electorate. This is almost on a par with the email scams that occasionally grace our inboxes; ‘Give me £1,000 and I’ll give you £10,000 back. Yeah, right!

I wouldn’t mind so much if these bureaucrats didn’t try to treat us as if we’d just fallen off a Christmas tree. Before that document was issued the future of the library should have been discussed with the Parish Council and the people of Collingham, and a consensus reached before there was any talk of reducing hours, which, reading that document, is obviously a fait accompli. The hours will be cut in April. Just a tad annoying, don’t you think, when they’ve just built a new library in Worksop and are opening it seven days a week!

Collingham has put up with the scrimping of the County Council for long enough, you only have to look at the state of our roads and pavements. The total waste of money patching up the pavement on Station Road earlier this year is a case in point. The patches weren’t even properly prepared and the pavements will probably be worse than they were originally within a few months. Yet a pavement in Dyke’s End that was perfect, and sees little or no traffic, was totally replaced. Sacking the halfwit that organised that shambles should save a lot of money for a start.
Yes, savings have to be made, there’s no doubt about that, but reducing the opening hours of the library to the point of stupidity is not the way. I quote from a letter similar to the one sent to NCC by the Parish Council:

It [Collingham] is the second busiest library in the County. Other less busy libraries are not scheduled to be downgraded to community libraries.
Collingham Library is not just used by Collingham villagers. The facilities of Collingham act as a hub for other villages in the surrounding area.
Our library is the only visible presence of the County Council in the village.
It is not just a lending library, the IT provision is booked continuously by people of all ages. It has a large, well used reference section. The expertise of the librarians and assistants is essential for the use of this provision.
It is a community resource; there are no other daytime meeting places in the village.
Our Government is talking of a ‘second industrial revolution’ to reskill our workforces. For the rural population this is already very difficult. We consider reducing the village library facilities will lead to further rural impoverishment.
Under the Equality Act 2010 provision must be made for disabled members of our community. Reduced hours in a library contained in a small space, with its current footfall would make access very difficult and hazardous for the disabled members of our community. Access to the expertise of librarians would also be reduced.

You can help to try and stop this madness. This is an edited copy of a letter sent to NCC by Dr Derek Middlemiss, Chairman of 2020 Green Vision - First Letter. This one was sent by the Parish Council - Second Letter. Please, download them, save them using “Save As”, and either combine them or personalise them and send them to NCC.

This is a copy of a poster that you may have seen on the notice board outside the Co-op, please print it off and post it somewhere conspicuous: Library Poster (PDF)

Follow this Link to the Collingham Library Consultation Page on the NCC website, fill in the form, but where it asks you to click against the option you favour ignore it. Go straight to the comments box below and write something along the lines of, “None of the options given are acceptable, to reduce the opening hours of such a busy library is ludicrous.” How long we can get away with not having to choose an option is anyone’s guess, so get in quickly. 10/01/2011 This consultation page is now closed!

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