A Leicester library has been thrown a lifeline after controversial plans to close it were put on hold for “at the very least the next three months”.
Leicester City Council was due to relocate Rushey Mead’s library service from its current building, in Lockerbie Avenue, to a nearby recreation centre earlier this month in a bid to save £14,000 a year.
But the move was postponed until City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and deputy mayor Councillor Piara Singh Clair, who represents Rushey Mead, met with Keith Vaz MP and campaigners.
The news was revealed at a Rushey Mead community meeting after Sir Peter wrote to Mr Vaz telling him of the council’s revised plans.
The letter said: “Over the last week we have had an opportunity to look at preliminary figures for increasing income were the two buildings to remain open and whether the user groups might indeed be able, as they offered, to assist in the process. We have also had an opportunity to look at the levels of capital expenditure that would be necessary to preserve an appropriate quality of public access and use over the next few years.
“We have considered that increased usage and income may be possible and that the user groups offer of demonstrating this is credible. We have also concluded that the level of capital investment —which will need to be properly quantified — is likely to be considerably less than if the two buildings were merged.
“We have therefore decided to put on hold plans to close the library and merge the two facilities for at the very least the next three months.”
The council made the decision to shut the existing library in January 2017, since then there have been several arguments in the council chamber with senior Labour councillors turning down invitations to meet with campaigners who say the recreation centre, which is owned by the city council, is too small to host both its existing users and a library.
Officers will work with user groups and property officers will assess the building over the next three months.
A final decision on the library’s fate will made in September.
