Four libraries were forced to close on Friday as part of Croydon Council’s efforts to create a more efficient library service, despite significant objections from residents.
The closure of Bradmore Green (Coulsdon), Sanderstead, Broad Green, and Shirley Library in Croydon came on the back of a public consultation in January 2024, which aimed to shape the future of library services in the borough.
The consultation was launched following budget cuts of over £800,000 between 2019 and 2022 and with less than 10% of residents utilising the libraries.
In September the council announced new proposals including longer opening hours, improved facilities and more staff to provide a new outreach service.
However, many residents in Croydon, including Shirley resident Hugh Atkinson, believe the decision to close the libraries was made long before the consultations took place.
Atkinson said: “The entire consultation process was just a sham.”
Sanderstead library user Elizabeth Ash, who is also a Save Croydon Libraries Campaigner, said many were unaware of the ongoing consultation and numerous residents felt close to tears after learning their local library is closing.
She said: “They’ve cut the staffing, they cut the stock, they cut the hours.
“They’ve basically tried to kill the service and still people go and use it.”
In November 2020, Croydon declared bankruptcy under its then-Labour council.
Four years later, it still has over £1bn in debt.
Shirley councillor Jason Cummings stated the previous council’s financial mismanagement resulted in these decisions.
He said: “It cut the opening hours for almost all the libraries in half.
“So right across the borough, some libraries were only open two days a week.”
Residents undersood the financial challenges faced by the council, but many such as Janice Green, who helped organise a petition which nearly 4,000 people signed, felt ignored.
Atkinson said: “There has been a real breakdown in trust, people have lost faith and trust in the council at the top leadership level.”
In July, Croydon East MP Natasha Irons contacted Croydon’s executive mayor Jason Perry about the planned closure of one of Shirley’s few remaining council-run community facilities which is subject to a covenant.
While she sympathised with the mayor consolidating the services, she expressed concern about the approach.
Irons said: “The commitment to not turn the building as is [and] to have a community run it without funding to support them to do that doesn’t bode well for the future of that library site.”
The council said the four closed library buildings will not be sold for development but will be repurposed for community use.
A Croydon Council spokesperson said: “It was found that the covenant arrangements did not include any requirement for the council to retain the building’s use as a library.
“Local groups who meet in these libraries will be contacted to arrange interim alternative venues.”
However, some residents doubt the plan’s feasibility.
Ash highlighted the significant maintenance costs, estimating that her local library in Sanderstead needs at least £200,000 worth of work.
Waddon councillor Rowenna Davis stated the library closures reflected larger issues, asserting libraries provide essential accessibility and community support beyond just books.
Davis said: “We’re facing a real crisis of loneliness here, I think loneliness is like a silent killer in our society that we’re only beginning to fully understand.”
Croydon Council has offered a weekly shuttle bus from the four closed libraries, but residents reported being told it would only run once a week.
Cllr Cummings said: “The shuttle bus option is not intended to completely replace a library or make it a type of service that people can just rock up anytime and go to, we can’t afford to do that.”
He added the shuttle is primarily there for people who could not access another library without this assistance.
Mayor Perry said: “Our library service really matters to our residents and to me.
“We are now introducing a new model of library service, which will better meet the needs of our residents, with nine libraries open at least five days per week including Saturdays.
“There will be no cuts to the libraries’ budget and existing resources will be used to provide a more inclusive, flexible, modernised service that reaches more of our residents.
“I am committed to keeping the buildings at Bradmore Green, Broad Green, Sanderstead and Shirley at the heart of their neighbourhood as community bases run by partners.”
Mayor Perry added opening hours will be increase from January 2025 at Croydon’s nine remaining libraries, which are Central, Ashburton, New Addington, Selsdon, Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood and Thornton Heath Library.
Image Credit: Liv Facey
