Hyde Library Service - The Reality
Recently I spoke at a council meeting in regards to Hyde Library and the reason it is moving. I want to repeat those words here, such that residents of Hyde and Tameside can understand the current situation.
The costs for running the library this year including business rates, energy costs etc, just the library not the full building, is over £90,000. The remaining parts of the building cost a total of around £90,000 too - this is without taking into account maintenance and repair work.
All of the services within the Union Street building will move to Hyde Town Hall, this includes the library, the groups associated with it and others. This one move will save the council at least £180,000 each year.
Now this goes no where near the amount that the Tory-led government are forcing the borough to cut over the next few years. But it is a move to Save Services that residents love and need, it is also a move that will make the Library service easier to access for the community.
The Conservative government are asking Tameside Council to cut a further £38 Million by 2017. This is ON TOP of the £104 Million of cuts since 2010! Thats £142 Million in total, this will mean Tameside Council is being forced to reduce spending per household each year by £1,500 since 2010.
These cuts are unfair, they are affecting those who rely on Council services most more than any one else, they are affecting the services Tameside Council offers.
It is because of these tory cuts that we MUST make the most of our assets and services, this means services are being moved to make them more effective and ensure the most effective use of buildings possible. This move will save £180,000 at least, thats a fraction of what we are being asked to save (£38M) but it means we can reduce the cuts we are being forced to make on services across Tameside.
So, let me repeat.
The Library service and groups associated with it will all move to Hyde Town Hall. The library service will not be cut, indeed the Town Hall will offer more - including further access to IT facilities and other council services.
The current plan is to simply moth-ball the building, it will then be assessed as to what the Council does with the building. Currently, beyond moth-balling, there are no plans for the building itself.
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As you have read above, TMBC must cut £38 Million in the next few years. To illustrate the difficulty the council faces in making this choice, and as part of the Big Conversation, recently the council released a Budget Simulator so that you can see where to make cuts and how this affects the total cutting we need to make. You can try the simulator here.