We have been asked to publicise the following …
On Friday 8th November Shirley library will close its doors for the last time.
3300 people signed the potion against its closure.
Be there at 4 pm for a meeting to record the event or even borrow a book!
All ages welcome.
SPRA has a place for a techie who’s not been able to find a use for their tech skills outside work but who would like to contribute to the community with those skills. Do you have
If so, we can offer the opportunity to use your skills to benefit others. Yes, it’s unpaid. Yes, it’s sometimes urgent. Yes, it doesn’t go away just because you’re in Magaluf or Melbourne. No, it doesn’t take all that long to sort when something does arise. No, you don’t have to cover all three skill points – we’d be happy to recruit two or three people if that what it takes …
If the above, but especially the first two, fall within your skill set, and you do want to make a difference, contact Mike Roberts on mike.c.roberts@blueyonder.co.uk or ring him on 020 8776 0739 or 07835 305 219 to talk through what’s involved in more detail.
It’s better than being a couch potato …
We have been asked to draw to Members’ attentions the following …
A day trip by coach to visit Polesden Lacey , near Leatherhead, National Trust property on Thursday 5th December 2024
Coach departs at 10am from Shirley Methodist Church, Eldon Avenue, Shirley CR0 8SD, Returning at approximately 4 – 5pm
Cost is £25.00 pp NT Members (includes coach, driver’s gratuity, entrance)
Non- members. £39.25 pp (as above)
Cheques payable to “Cancer Research U.K.“ or alternatively pay by BACS direct.
Contact Carol Murphy, 16 Wickham Road, Shirley, Tel 020 8656 7625 or M 07747713701
THIS EVENT IS BEING RUN BY THE BROMLEY FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE FOR CANCER RESEARCH
Members may be aware of an invitation to an event in Crystal Palace Park … see
Conker the Park is a trail designed by artist Hazel East for families to explore the beauty of autumn in Crystal Palace Park through its vibrant colours, wildlife and falling leaves.
It is among a range of free events being staged by the Crystal Palace Park Trust for families this October half-term.
To Conker the Park, all you have to do is visit the Information Centre (near the Penge Gate entrance to the park) to get a trail sheet on Thursday October 24 and Thursday October 31.
On Friday November 1, there’s an interactive Magical Storytelling session with storyteller Vanessa Woolf at the Concert Platform from 10am. This is aimed at children aged 7 and under.
Tickets are free but you’ll need to book a time slot via Eventbrite.
We are invited to attend either of two sessions in the playground at the Rec, as ibelow
I am pleased to inform you that due to the upcoming redevelopment of the playground, the council will be holding engagement sessions inside the playground on the below dates.
Monday 21st of October 14:00 – 16:00
Friday 25th of October 14:00– 16:00
The engagement sessions will be held in conjunction with HAGS who have designed the new playground, these sessions give everyone the chance to raise any questions they may have and provide feedback regarding the designs.
***Designs are NOT final and are subject to change***
All enquiries to parks@croydon.gov.uk
The “Save Shirley Library” Campaign has joined with other similar campaigns in the town to send a letter to H M Government. We reproduce its contents below
“This letter constitutes a formal complaint against the London Borough of Croydon (LBC) by The Library Campaign (TLC), acting on behalf of a number of Croydon residents, under Section 10 of the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964. We call for a full DCMS investigation into the council’s current library library plans (such as they are) and intervention to secure improvements.
This a matter of some urgency, as the council has produced a welter of unsatisfactory and contradictory documents just a week ago, for decision on 25 September.
We also invoke Section 7 of the 1964 Act (see below).
We further intend to explore legal action at the appropriate time, on grounds including (but not limited to) numerous faults in the consultation process, which has violated the Gunning principles on a number of counts.
We have already sent detailed evidence to the council (attached FYI) during the consultation. To our surprise, it is still in every detail relevant to the new “plans”, which have not changed at all – except that the estimated saving from closing four libraries (different estimates in different documents!) is even more paltry than the previous estimate.
Our main concern is that consultees were presented with no coherent plan for the claimed “targeted” services to mitigate the acknowledged damage from the four closures.
Their overriding reaction (as now reported in LBC’s own words) was “confusion”, “scepticism” and a desire to be given some factual information – along with strong opposition (66%) to any closures at all – just as strong among the users of libraries not slated for closure.
To our amazement, there is still no plan.
And there are still no relevant costings at all.
As we said in our original evidence, what was presented was not a plan but a cry for help.
This still applies.
As before, some rather wild ideas are scattered about, involving venues and partners still unidentified. Library staff seemingly will be expected (among other things) to travel all over the area for occasional contacts, tailor-make and service collections for individual spaces and groups, all unmonitored, conduct weekly “activities” here and there, plus unspecified “events”, place and service general collections in clearly unsuitable venues such as schools and care homes, and expand the home service – even visiting mobile individuals who currently use their local library but will not use an alternative (40-50% of respondents from libraries set to close).
The library staff are also now expected to start from scratch in October, finding partners and venues, piloting makeshift new ideas, costing and evaluating the whole enterprise and undergoing training and a complete “culture change” – while simultaneously decommissioning and moving resources from four libraries due to close, also in October. This will be a highly inefficient and stressful process.
The result – though we stress again that there is no plan at all, and no costings – seems guaranteed to be an unsatisfactory “mitigation” patchwork of provision that will be an enduringly inefficient drain on staff and funds.
This will clearly put LBC in contravention of its duty under Section 7 of the 1964 Act to “provide a comprehensive and efficient library service” and arguably its duty to serve “all persons desiring to make use thereof… encouraging both adults and children to make full use of the library service”.
We re-emphasise also that this whole aspiration (we cannot call it a plan) is completely uncosted. It seems to be based on spending a projected saving solely from the building running costs of the four threatened libraries – now estimated at either £49k or £54k, depending which document you read. This sum is also earmarked for improving the remaining nine libraries. And we see no indication of the decommissioning costs of four libraries.
The Library Campaign strongly suggests that any projected saving from hasty closures is effectively zero (or negative).
All closures should be put back until LBC produces relevant costings, and a “mitigation” plan that can be examined and evaluated. Only on this basis can a decision be made that meets LBC’s statutory duty.
This letter could be very much longer.
We look forward to discussing the matter in detail with DCMS, alongside the Croydon residents we represent.
Best wishes
Laura Swaffield
Chair, The Library Campaign
The Library Campaign – supporting friends and users of libraries
Registered Charity (E&W) no.1102634
www.librarycampaign.com
Follow us on twitter @LibraryCampaign”
St Christopher’s Hospice offer grateful thanks to Jenny & Ken of 7 Langland Gardens for their fund-raising efforts in their plant sales during the year.
This has amounted to a magnificent – and very welcome – sum of £1000.
The Hospice also thanks those who bought plants for supporting this effort and says “your support means so much!”
We have been asked to publicise a quiz to be held on 5 Ocootber at West Wickham & Shirley Baptist Church. This is raising funds for Ryan Therapy Neuro Centre and for Children’s Hospital Pyjamas. It is a combined event by West Wickham Rotary and Addiscombe & Shirley Rotary.
You are invited to arrive by 6:45 for the start of the quiz at 7:00; costs £15 per tickets to include a fish & chip supper; tables of six; bring your own drinks.
Tckets in advance can be secured from westwickhamrotary@btinternet.com or from Matthews jewellers (West Wickham), Picture Partnership (Shirley) or Addiscombe DIY (Addiscombe)
SPRA and The Friends of Shirley Library
We believe that the SPRA Committee’s position to this point, to remain neutral about the Library closure, was well-reasoned and based on the information available (the library usage figures and the building condition survey). However Committee members were conscious of the strength of feeling on the part of a section of the community. This prompted SPRA to help facilitate some early networking amongst the Friends and to offer the SPAN magazine’s pages to publicise the group’s activities (an opportunity which has been taken up). It also provided expert advice through a third party on the issue of the covenants.
SPRA wishes publicly to recognise the not insignificant efforts made by the Friends to mobilise support to retain the Library. It has been no small achievement to have launched and sustained a campaign that has now gathered from across Shirley more than 2,500 signatures for its petition, from a standing start in a short period of time. The SPRA committee wishes therefore to congratulate all those Friends volunteers who have contributed so far to this effort. The support for the petition thus indicates a large body of support in favour of fighting for the Library – many of those signatories will be members of SPRA.
As a membership organisation, we are responsive to and answerable to our members. This being the case, your Committee has discussed once again its position in relation to the Library. Mindful of the support for the Friends’ efforts and the views of a good number of our members, the Committee has resolved to withdraw its position of neutrality. SPRA is now fully supportive of the campaigning efforts of the Friends group and it will discuss with the Friends of Shirley Library how it can further assist them in their aims. For those people wishing to sign the online petition launched by the Friends, the link is below
SAVE OUR SHIRLEY Library, the Heart of Our Community – Croydon, United Kingdom · Change.org
Geoff Flook
Chair
On behalf of the SPRA Executive Committee
