Despite the biblical storms, we had a fantastic turnout at the demo on Tuesday and residents fought hard. 

But as expected, the 7 Tory councillors on the Policy & Resources Committee voted in favour of the Hendon Hub plans - which will see the library moving out of its 100 year home.  The 5 Labour and Lib-Dem councillors voted against.  

This vote was described as "indicative". 

The final vote will now be a full council one taking place on Tuesday 27th July.   

We've no time to prepare anything formal BUT if anyone wants to join us at Hendon Town Hall 18:30 on Tuesday for a last attempt to ask councillors to please not shaft our community, please come along & SPREAD SPREAD SPREAD THE WORD.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!

This was the speech I made to councillors about our petition ...

Hendon Library is the flagship Barnet Library located in the Civic Centre of Barnet.
 
The people who signed this petition want our library to stay in its 100-year home.
 
We believe moving the flagship Barnet Library from a majestic, iconic building to what looks like a set from a CBeebies show on the ground floor of an ugly, hulking accommodation block is to the great detriment of residents.
 
To quote our MP: “I share the dismay… at the entire loss of the historic Library building and am unclear … why the space could not be updated … to accommodate everything being proposed for a new library.”.
 
We’ve been told the move is because the current building isn’t fit to house a “state of the art” library. I’ve consulted with Libraries Connected. Everything from shelves to a makerspace can be accommodated in the current building. Can the council not afford to upgrade the heating, roof etc?
 
If so, how did we get here?
 
About 20 years ago, Hendon library was extensively refurbished “for the 21st century”.
 
In a successful 2007 pitch to modernise Kensington Central Library, this refurb was cited as the gold standard because it had generated a 40% increase in Hendon Library’s use and the building “inspired, excited and delighted its users and supported a sense of civic pride”.
 
But in the following ten years, Hendon library services were cut. And cut. Another refurb in 2017 saw 1600 sq m of our library given away, leaving us with just 200 sq m of oppressive hutches, with restricted public access.
 
And now residents are to be banished to a location with the gravitas of a Tesco Metro.
 
Also, after two years of planning, NOT ONE provision had been put in place for the community groups who are to be made homeless by the Hendon Hub plans. It’s only because of our feedback that a new location (with insufficient space) has been suggested. Where? The ground floor of another uni building.
 
I urge the Committee to consider that the whole library building be returned to the people so it can be used, not just as a library and community hub for Hendon but for all of Barnet; housing local amenities, following the examples of Bath, Glossop and Chelmsley Wood libraries.
 
In a post-covid era, the CIPD report 40% of UK employers expect half their workforce to work regularly from home. We need a decent space.
 
Residents are looking to our Conservative-led council to conserve and be innovative. You are in a position to repair some of the battering our lives have recently taken. I implore you to use that power for good: to enhance – not destroy - the sense of place, learning, history, civic pride and social unity here; to reconsider giving away the last of our civic "crown jewels"; and to ensure that residents continue to be an EQUAL partner with the university, not a footnote in Hendon.
 
So let us keep our library building!