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as a Vicky Mcclure type “trigger point” alert to the Labour councillors behind that amendment, including portfolio holder Pavlos Kotsonis, to form a posse alongside the Sheriff of Nottingham, standing against the cuts, but unfortunately that didn’t happen!
The library review is being drawn up as we speak, to be accompanied by a 12-week consultation.
I would have to say, that following the “order” to all city councillors by the previous chair of the misnamed Improvement and Assurance Board, Sir Tony Redmond, to ignore the responses of the 5,400 citizens from the previous service-wide consultation over the Christmas and New Year period, I feel less motivated to complete the library survey.
I spent over four hours completing that online survey covering all of the proposed cuts, including the section on libraries, so to be told by this unelected Governmentinstalled bureaucrat that my views were of no importance, was dispiriting, to say the least.
In the end, our local heroine, Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, aka the Sheriff of Nottingham, was the only Labour councillor to make the “difficult decision” to vote against this horrendous budget which, according to Councillor Steve Battlemuch will “wreck the fabric of our city”, and sadly her colleagues took the “easy option” of going with the flow.
But remember, that flow is now a raging torrent, heading for a cataclysmic waterfall cliff edge, taking with it jobs and services including the three historic libraries.
One thing is clear: the Nottingham SOS campaign, and Save Nottingham Libraries, is once again in offensive and defensive mode, and let’s be clear – we will defend all of the city libraries to the hilt, so that families and users, continue to get the joy from their libraries, as was demonstrated at The Meadows event last week.
And it’s worth pointing out that it’s not just libraries which are under threat, as just taking The Meadows as an example, the local bowls club, community gardens, and the Queen’s Walk Community Centre, are also in the firing line, and SOS24 is organising a public meeting on Tuesday, April 16,at 6pm at QWCC.
And you never know, we might even have a welcome appearance by our local heroine. Fingers (and bows) crossed for that.
#standwiththesheriffofnottingham
Des Conway Sherwood