More excellent community journalism! Just having a space like this in any town is SO important. I am old enough to remember when libraries all over the country - run by local authorities in those days - had all the day's papers and a good collection of magazines for people to thumb through. Of course, in those halcyon times [pre Google and Wikipedia] there were professional librarians as well!
Excellent journalism…..you expose the threat to an important local amenity, the duality of political interest within the town council, and illustrate the ongoing Conservative intent to demolish public services.
Thank you for making the situation in Raunds crystal clear……..
Thank you for this excellent reporting. This is the same situation we found with our failed bid to rescue Higham Ferrers library in 2020 when the then Northants County Council would not contemplate a virtually free rent deal for the first 2 years to prove our case.
Of course everything has been clouded by the Covid pandemic and it would have been tough during the past twenty four months but I believe there is now an even greater case for councils to encourage local community group run libraries. Finedon, for instance, seems to be working well.
We accept that Higham is long gone but its facilities are still sadly missed.
I wish the Raunds group every success but recall that we were promised help by our then local County Councillor which, in the event, proved to be mere words with no action.
Said councillor is currently Leader of North Northants. It does not bode well for Raunds.
More excellent community journalism! Just having a space like this in any town is SO important. I am old enough to remember when libraries all over the country - run by local authorities in those days - had all the day's papers and a good collection of magazines for people to thumb through. Of course, in those halcyon times [pre Google and Wikipedia] there were professional librarians as well!
Excellent journalism…..you expose the threat to an important local amenity, the duality of political interest within the town council, and illustrate the ongoing Conservative intent to demolish public services.
Thank you for making the situation in Raunds crystal clear……..
Thank you for this excellent reporting. This is the same situation we found with our failed bid to rescue Higham Ferrers library in 2020 when the then Northants County Council would not contemplate a virtually free rent deal for the first 2 years to prove our case.
Of course everything has been clouded by the Covid pandemic and it would have been tough during the past twenty four months but I believe there is now an even greater case for councils to encourage local community group run libraries. Finedon, for instance, seems to be working well.
We accept that Higham is long gone but its facilities are still sadly missed.
I wish the Raunds group every success but recall that we were promised help by our then local County Councillor which, in the event, proved to be mere words with no action.
Said councillor is currently Leader of North Northants. It does not bode well for Raunds.