Calls to keep Macduff Library open to avoid £100k works being 'put in the skip'

Macduff Library is under threat.
-Credit:Google


Calls have been made to keep Macduff Library open to prevent nearly £100,000 of recent improvement works from being “put in the skip”.

It also comes after concerns were raised that Aberdeenshire Council could face being dragged to court over the closure of 13 library buildings across the region. The local authority had earmarked the sites for closure in a bid to save crucial cash.

Residents were shocked to learn that venues in Macduff, Cairnbulg and Rosehearty were all at risk of being shut for good back in November. They were expected to close for the last time by the end of December, but this has yet to take place.

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Following backlash from furious residents, Aberdeenshire Council agreed to host public meetings in each affected area to ask how library services could be run in the future. The Banff and Buchan area committee recently received feedback from three consultations held in the ward.

Service chief Avril Nicol told members there was a large turnout of “very committed folk” at the Macduff meeting in particular. However, it was explained that the High Street building was at risk due to significant running costs, given its very limited opening hours.

Twelve residents have formed a Friends of Macduff Library group and are interested in potentially taking on the site through a community asset transfer. While a decision on the building’s fate is still to be decided, councillors believed more information needed to be gathered first.

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The future of all 13 library buildings currently at risk will be considered by the communities committee when it meets next month. However, there is a fear the council is rushing the closures without any proper consideration for library users.

Councillor Glen Reynolds thinks the public consultation hasn’t been good enough and believes the local authority is at risk of a judicial review. This was threatened in Aberdeen after the city council decided to close six libraries as part of brutal budget cuts two years ago.

However, the local authority managed to avoid legal action after a humiliating climbdown where bosses admitted its consultation could have been improved.

Mr Reynolds was also worried that the fate of the buildings will be determined in just two weeks, claiming this hasn’t been enough time to make a suitable decision.

“What terrifies local communities is the fact that this is the start of a process and yet we are looking at closing buildings at the end of March,” he said. “I just can’t see it happening, we need to be realistic about this.

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“It would be negligent to make a decision to close the library based on the information we have today…there will be uproar.”

He added: “One size does not fit all and each library has to be considered on its own merits along with the views of the community. The options on the table were simply not set out and the detail required was clearly not going to be provided in time.”

While fellow councillor Ross Cassie argued that many groups use Macduff library and urged for their views to be added before any decisions are made. He also took issue with the local authority potentially closing the library after spending almost £100,000 on improvements.

“Macduff has had an awful lot of money spent on it just recently – windows, lighting, automatic doors, furniture, at a cost of around £95,000. That is a lot of money being spent there for it now just to be put in the skip.

“Why not look at all of the buildings and come to a joint up solution?”

Following debate, the committee asked for all three libraries to remain open as they didn’t believe they had enough information to justify their closure. They also recommended the buildings are not closed until alternative provision has been provided.