Councillors Janet Gardner, Phoday Jarjussey and Mo
Khursheed attended the meeting as Ward
Councillors. A number of other Members
of the Council attended the meeting.
Concerns and
suggestions raised by Mr John McDonnell, MP and the petition
organisers at the meeting included the following:
- The Former Hayes
Library on Golden Crescent was a much cherished community building
in Hayes which was a building of great character and heritage
- Many community
organisations ranging from children to the elderly had used the
facility which was one of few community facilities in Hayes
- Overall residents
were pleased with the new Botwell
Leisure Centre which housed the new library and swimming pool but
residents hoped the former library would be retained for community
use
- The retention of the
former library as a resource for young people would give the
younger people of Hayes a facility which would alleviate some of
the problems caused by youths congregating on the
streets
- The elderly residents
of Hayes could use the facility as a “drop-in”
centre
- The former library
was one of the last remaining heritage buildings in Hayes
- There were many
cultural and religious sections of the community who wanted to work
in partnership with the Council on a project to retain the building
which would be an opportunity for Community Cohesion work
- The Community could
look at raising funds in partnership with the Council to provide a
community resource at the building
- A feasibility study
could be undertaken to see what revenue and capital resources would
be needed to improve the building
- Reference was made to
the setting up of a Conservation Panel around two years ago which
identified the building as a building of great significance
- If the site was sold
and developed for flats the heritage of the building would be
lost
- Reference was made to
the need for a site for the Police within Hayes as their present
site was not big enough and the former library could be an
option
- There were two Safer
Neighbourhood Teams within the area that did not have premises and
the former library could be an option
- There was a belief
that there were funds which community groups could obtain to carry
out such a project. Details of these were provided in a paper
submitted to the Cabinet Member
- The petitioners
requested that the Council did not go for an immediate sale of the
site and gave consideration to the Council working in partnership
with the Council
- Reference was made to
the Localism Bill and the proposals relating to community asset
transfer and the library would fall into this category as it was a
redundant building. This would become legislation in around 4
months time
- The retention of the
former library could be a important feature in terms of the long
term future of Hayes Town Centre
- Reference was made to Barra Hall where a community group was formed when
the building was looking to be sold by the Council. Funding was
obtained from the Government (£600,000), LBH (£150,000)
and £150,000 from a Trust. This had been a great success and
was a good example of the community working together
- The capital receipt
the Council would receive for the former library would not be
substantial
- This initiative would
have the support of the community of Hayes, of Hayes Partnership
and of Ward Councillors
- Assurances have been
given in the past by the Council, that when the former library
became available, the community would be given the opportunity to
use this building for the community. Reference was also given to a
pledge given by the Leader that the facility would be handed over
to the community
- The Council should
consider delaying any final decision on the future of the building
to enable consideration to be given to the proposals by
residents
- Representatives from
the Somalia, Muslim and Sikh communities expressed their support to
all faith groups and community groups, working together on this
project
- Hayes was generally a
deprived area within the Borough with substantial needs and this
facility would help the community as a whole
- Reference was made to
the lack of playgroups within Hayes with the recent closure of 3 of
them in the last 5 years , and the former library being a possible
facility for a playgroup
- Opposition was raised
to the construction of flats on this site and the problem of car
parking which would result
- The Council should be
looking to sell off the old swimming pool building as this would
bring a larger capital receipt to the Council
- One of the reasons
given for the sale was to provide funding for additional school
places in the Borough and a comment was made that selling the
former library would indicate that the south of the Borough was
having to pay for these education places
- Hayes needed
community facilities instead of more housing development
- A representative of
the Somalia community referred to his organisation wanting to start
a school within Hayes
- A consultation with
the local community should have taken place prior to any decision
being taken by the Council on the future of the building. This
process could still be undertaken to allow full consideration to be
given to all the issues raised by residents and community
groups
- All options could be
considered, a feasibility study could be carried out within a set
timescale and residents would then be satisfied that all options
had been given fair and full consideration
Councillor Bianco
listened to the concerns of the petitioners, thanked them for their
presentations and responded to the points raised.
- A decision on the two
petitions received would be made at or after the Council meeting on
7 July 2011
- There had been
substantial interest from many faith groups in this building
- The Council had
looked at the sale option for the building because of the capital
receipt it would generate which would contribute to the
Council’s Capital receipts Programme and would contribute to
the funding for additional school places in the south of the
Borough
- Projections were that
at least 30-45 forms of entry were required for primary schools
within the Borough
- The Council faced
financial difficulties in respect of the school’s programme
and it was looking at a number of assets within the Borough with a
view to selling and generating capital receipts
- Before the petitions
had been submitted the Council had looked at residential conversion
of the building but keeping the existing building
- The building was
being vandalised and keeping it secure and safe was becoming
difficult
- Reference was made to
the Botwell Leisure Centre, where
community groups used these facilities
- If the site was sold,
it would be for the best bid and the best value to this Council and
it would not just be to one particular group
- The Council also had
an obligation to the 4/5 year olds of the Borough, as they were
also part of the community and there was a need for more school
places
- The majority of extra
school, places needed were in the south of the Borough
- Consideration might
be given to delaying a decision on the future of this building to
enable all options and considerations to be given
- There was a
possibility that the use of the building as a community facility
could work
- The proposal to
develop the building for residential use would be for a single
storey development only
- The reason for the
long leasehold for the site was to ensure that when the site was
sold, it would be for the use intended by the Council only
- The sites of the
former library and the old swimming pools were not big enough or
suitable to develop for a school to the standard acceptable for
this Council
- In relation to the
old swimming pool site, the Council was waiting for an upturn in
the housing market before selling the site
- The Council
represented all residents of all the Borough and worked closely
with all community groups
- This Council had a
programme of keeping libraries open and actually opening new
libraries, which was against the national trend
- Botwell Leisure Centre was a new state of the art
facility and there had been a significant increase in usage. A
number of community groups used the facility
- A counter argument to
the suggestion that a residential development would generate more
traffic, was that a community development would also generate
traffic
Councillor Bianco
informed the petitioners that the points and issues raised this
evening would be taken away for further consideration and further
discussions would take place on the options available for the
future of the former Hayes library.
RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for
Finance, Property and Business Services
- Noted the
petition received and listened to the views of
petitioners;
- Informed
the petitioners that no final decision would be made on the future
of the former Hayes library until after the petition at the Council
meeting on 7 July 2011 had been heard;
- That
further discussions would take place on the options available to
the Council on the future of the former Hayes library
REASONS FOR
RECOMMENDATION
To allow
the Cabinet Member to consider the petition with the
petitioners.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
CONSIDERED
As identified with the petitioners.