Trentham Library Under Threat Of Closure?

On 9th December 2013 I attended and took minutes for a public meeting, held at Trentham High School, about concerns that Trentham Library may be closed as a result of Stoke-on-Trent City Council cuts to be made in the 27th February 2014 budget.  This has been reported and commented on in The Sentinel.  The library building appears in a list under review.

Anyone wishing to comment on the council's budget proposals should do so by 20^th December 2013, by:

• post to - Budget 2014, Freepost Our City (no stamp needed)
• email to budget2014@stoke.gov.uk
• web site at

http://webapps.stoke.gov.uk/snapsurveys/BlueBookBudget/budget2013_14.htm

Councillors Peter Hayward and Terry Follows introduced the topic.

Dr Rowena Blencowe, head teacher at Trentham High, was introduced. She had provided the venue and said that school governors had decided there would be no charge for use of the school facilities for residents' meetings.

Marilyn Vigars had produced a Powerpoint presentation detailing key facts.

Ann and Maureen distributed sign-in sheets for those present.

67 residents attended the meeting! 10 had sent apologies for absence.

Cllr Hayward presented the Powerpoint.

Due to council cuts Trentham library is under medium threat of closure.

The library is not just a hut, it is a freely accessible community asset. As a library, it of course lends books, but is more than that; there are toddler classes, story time sessions and silver surfers. The rumour in the council is that library services will be centralised in Hanley with books distributed out to other areas.

Trentham library is one of the most used in the city for its size. The annual running costs are £3,000 for the building and £24,000 for staffing. There is a real and sustained threat of closure if nothing is done.

A resident asked why the hours couldn't be cut instead of closing the library?

Cllr Hayward said the council does want comments and alternative suggestions and in discussions so far it seems they may be willing to provide librarians and database access if they can get rid of the building.

There is a 20^th December 2013 deadline for the council to decide cuts to the library service so that is also the deadline for asset rationalisation and a business plan. £3,000 would need to be raised but this could be done over a few years. Cllr Hayward said if this can be done, then the community would have the existing building and may also be able to raise money to add extra space to the building for community use.

A resident pointed out that we are rate payers so aren't we entitled to the library?

Cllr Hayward explained that the council are only obliged to provide a library service but this could be centralised in Hanley.

A resident asked if Trentham library could be relocated to the children's centre in Hanford?

Cllr Hayward said that the council had planned to close children's centres but didn't because the government would in that case claw back funds. There are considerable parking problems at the children's centre.

A resident asked if Trentham library could be relocated to Trentham High School?

Cllr Hayward said that would depend on ongoing support from the head and governors and parking would need to be considered.

There was a discussion of cutting the library hours, this can save a bit on staffing costs but not too much as there has to be two staff.

A resident reported that in the 1980s the library only opened on Tuesdays and Fridays, 3-7pm and was a third of the current size but was still very well used.

Cllr Hayward said in defence of the council, in other areas of the country other solutions such as asset transfer to communities were being used and our council is doing the same.

A resident asked, given that we are rate payers and the library is already 'ours' why do we have to buy it again?

Cllr Follows outlined 3 different options:

1. Keep the library where it is.
2. Sell 2 building plots from the grassed area by the library and use the money to keep the library going for a while.
3. Move the library to Trentham High and sell 5 building plots from that site, using the money to keep the library going longer. The head is agreeable provided there is no cost to the school.

Cllr Hayward was keen to start asset transfer to the community on account of the short deadline.

A resident commented that the council plans do not make financial sense because to centralise the library and send out ordered books, the costs must be astronomical.

A resident said things should be left as they are. Although government has reduced funding for councils, our council has no justification to close Trentham library in order to make a very small saving when he said millions of pounds are being spent on Ingestre Square, the public sector and new build.

Cllr Follows said the council think we don't need things in Trentham because they view us as having big houses and several cars.

A resident asked why the council can't bring in money from the massive debts owed to them in council tax and rent arrears?

Cllr Hayward pointed out that although he and Cllr Follows are in political opposition in the council, he admits that debt collection rates are improving.

Cllr Hayward suggested we should put forward a proposal for Trentham library that the council would be embarrassed to refuse.

A resident said a pragmatic solution is needed to force the council into a corner. He suggested the council be asked to grant ownership of the entire library plot to the community so some could then be sold to run the library for ~10 years. This could be 'too difficult' for the council, in which case they can leave the library as it is.

Cllr Follows said he had already suggested this to the council but has not received a response as yet.

A resident, drawing on experience from her work, said that Hanford and Trentham has the least number of activity groups for older people in the city.

A resident suggested that as the data show that 33,000 books are borrowed from Trentham library each year, if each person paid 10p per book, the £3,000 would easily be raised.

Cllrs Follows and Hayward said that given the huge turnout at this meeting we can surely keep Trentham library and keep it on its current site. What is needed is a working group of 4-5 people for ~12 months to arrange asset transfer. Cllr Hayward said there will be more and more cuts year on year so it is best to take the library into community ownership in order to keep it.

A resident asked how the council manage to waste so much money?

A resident said there are 30 'clowns' – Labour councillors, agreeing to every cut. He wants the lot out. We have two good independent councillors fighting them who will always be outvoted.

Cllr Hayward said that a business plan for asset transfer does not generally have to go to a council vote, if it did we would be in dire straits.

Cllr Follows said the council have experience of Trentham residents and how much they are capable of fighting, because we fought to save Trentham High School and won.

Cllr Hayward said Trentham is not seen as a 'soft touch'.

A resident asked how we can present our plans to the council by 20^th December?

Cllr Hayward said we need ~6 residents to help with the plan, especially those with business experience. Cllr Hayward said he can then collate a general package by 20^th December. Then there can be more meetings to sort out the details.

A resident said it is important to initiate a plan in order to avoid falling under the 'savings' for this year's budget.

A resident said the solution seems to be to have residents volunteer to maintain the building, rather than volunteer in the library, as the council would provide the staff.

A resident said there are sources of grant money that can be obtained.

A resident asked for the land to be kept as well as the building.

A resident said the older generation could have difficulty going to a library elsewhere. He didn't think the council motivation in closing Trentham library is to save money, he thought they want to make money by selling the land.

A resident said very young children use the library as well and like to browse physical books rather than just view them on the computer.

Cllr Hayward said a local girl had used the library and won a prize for a Christmas card design.

A resident said we have skills, ability and a good mix of people in our area, so have the power to save the library.

Cllr Follows said if we can't keep the library where it is, It has been agreed it can come to Trentham High School. The head said they only have a very small library.

A resident said the library needs both books and computers.

A resident said that some people use the computers at the library to develop their skills.

A resident was concerned that although the current head is agreeable to the library being in the school, without any offence, the situation may change some years later.

A resident said Trentham library is our last community building and we need to keep it.

Cllr Hayward said that only 40% of people communicate with the council via computer.

A resident said that the value of the library to the community, from toddlers to life long learning, should be mentioned in the business plan.

Ann would take a note of residents willing to help with the business plan. Cllrs Follows and Hayward assured residents that they would lead the plan and liaise with the council but the substance of it needs to come from the community.

A resident said that the library staff had told him it was 'done and dusted' that Trentham library would close.

Cllrs Hayward and Follows said it certainly wasn't a done deal. They also said that amongst the libraries in the city, Trentham has only medium threat because the saving would be such a small amount.

A resident asked for publicity in The Sentinel.

A resident said if we have a good community facility we can put on more events for older people.

A resident said there are always people using the 3 computers in the library and that David Cameron wants everyone to have computer access and skills. The library could be expanded to help this and we should certainly make the point that computer access should not be cut off.

A resident said other areas have good facilities and there are funding sources we could use.

A resident referred to reports on the elderly and an emphasis on loneliness, the library is really helpful to combat this.

Cllr Hayward said the top two reasons why people like Trentham library are the parking available and the friendliness of the staff.

Cllr Hayward encouraged people to submit letters to the council for their budget consultation, protesting any planned closure of Trentham library. Last year there were only ~800 letters from the whole city, so a large number from Trentham would be helpful.

Two types of volunteers were requested:

• business plan working party
• ongoing library volunteers maybe needed in the future.

It was unanimously agreed that the business plan should focus on keeping the library building on its current site.

When asked how people had found out about the meeting, very many had found out from the poster in Trentham library!

A vote of thanks was given to Marilyn Vigars for producing the posters and Powerpoint presentation.

13 people volunteered for the business plan working party and there were plenty of ongoing volunteers also.

The meeting closed at 8.30pm.

Michelle Chow from The Sentinel talked to residents after the meeting.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Meeting 12/12/13

I've been viewing the webcast of the Stoke-on-Trent full council meeting of 12th December 2013, in particular the petitions and public questions.

Petitions

Tracy Forrester (00:27:50) presented a petition on a common theme, dangerous and illegal parking outside schools, in this case Packmoor Primary School.  She reported that her two children had been nearly run over, all children are vulnerable and a child had been run over in 2011.  She listed all the usual problems and said that traffic wardens to not arrive at the relevant times.

Bob Lockett (00:32:06) presented a petition opposing the sale of land by Power Grove in Longton for use as a traveller site.  He cited  reasons of rare wildlife in this area of natural beauty and difficulties of access.  He also complained that money was meant to be spent on play facilities in this area but was spent in another ward.  He appealed for this land to remain a public open space.

Angela Cardall (00:34:04) presented another petition on parking, this time outside St. John's Primary School in Springfield.  Again the usual problems were listed with parent parking but also with hospital related parking.  She asked for the issue to be referred to city renewal overview and scrutiny committee but no councillor responded to this.  

It's bizarre that many parents city wide quite happily indulge in dangerous and illegal parking outside schools, whilst many others are aghast at this behaviour.  Honestly, those parents parking illegally need to think about what they are doing and park properly a bit further away, for the safety of all concerned.

Public questions

There was just one supplementary question asked, by Mike Barnes (00:39:21).  He had requested information on consultants/agency staff covering senior management position on the council and been told there were 3; Director – Place, Assistant Director – Green Enterprises and Section 151 Officer & Assistant Director – Financial Services.  His supplementary question asked for the individual costs.

Council Leader Mohammed Pervez (00:40:13) reported that the average monthly costs paid to the recruitment agency for these posts are £17,903, £15,907 and £11,900, totalling £45,710.  He said if these were filled internally permanently, on all inclusive basis the total would be £44,820.

By-election result

Cllr Anthony Munday who had won the Baddeley, Milton and Norton by-election on 15th November was welcomed (00:44:18).  That's good, another city independent councillor.

Kidsgrove Town Council - A Snapshot Personal View

 As I'm interested in local democracy, I wonder about democratic structures.  I live in Stoke-on-Trent which is run by a unitary council and I wonder whether more layers, such as parish/town councils, may be useful in getting democracy closer to the grass roots.  At a Democracy4Stoke meeting, one member suggested a visit to Kidsgrove Town Council might be interesting.  So whilst this wasn't my idea, on a relevant Thursday evening when my more exciting plans didn't pan out, I decided at short notice to turn up to a meeting.

I attended the Kidsgrove Town Council full council meeting on 21st November 2013 as an observer.  Two of us attended as members of the public, myself and a student doing a piece of practical journalism.  Unfortunately I had no agenda as none seem to be published and I was not given one.  It does not seem that recent minutes have been published on the web either.

The following is a purely personal account and just picks out some key points, rather than being comprehensive, based on my own impressions and opinions from observing that one meeting. Whilst I try my best to report any actual facts accurately, I do apologise if I get anything wrong or misquote anyone and stand to be corrected if that is the case.  I concentrate heavily on my impressions as an outsider though.

In the chair was Mayor Kyle Robinson, with another councillor on his left and town clerk Jill Waring on his right.  13 other councillors were present.

Personnel Buildings & Services Committee

This committee had produced a document requiring full council approval.  Cllr Waring raised a concern that actions had been taken by the mayor prior to council approval that Cllr Waring believed Newcastle Borough Council had told the meeting that it needed.  There was a suggestion that this may even be illegal.  Cllr Locke said discussion was difficult because of confidentiality.  Cllr Stringer and Cllr Bailey seemed to be keen to avoid delay but Cllr Waring proposed deferring approval of the document because related items had been deferred, there were 4 votes for and 8 votes against deferral.  Cllr Turner then proposed accepting the document, which was passed by 8 votes for and 3 against.

Allotments Committee

It appeared that there had been problems for years with people getting into the allotments and causing damage.  Apparently the sort of pigeons kept by pigeon fanciers can cost £1500 so the death of one can be costly.  Razor wire is not allowed and it was thought neither is barbed wire.  Cllr Jukes suggested the same fencing as used at the health centre which he guessed was £8-12 per metre, but Cllr Stringer said there had been a quote of £53,500 for a fence! I think I heard someone else say that up to £3,000 can be applied for from the police and crime commissioner for allotment security.  There appeared to be some tension between Cllr Stringer and Mayor Robinson.

Committees

The tension between Cllr Stringer and Mayor Robinson became much more apparent in a discussion on committees.  A vote was required to agree committee membership but Cllr Stringer objected to being deselected.  It transpired, as far as I can gather from the discussion, that Cllr Stringer had resigned as leader of the Labour group but not from the finance and general purposes committee and objected to Labour deselecting him because he does not attend their meetings.  It seemed Labour wanted to replace him with Cllr Bates who Cllr Stringer said had originally turned it down.  Cllr Stringer said he was "fed up, absolutely fed up" - and that is a direct quote.  He objected to Mayor Robinson smiling in a smug way.  As the public seats were to the side of the mayor's table I was not in a position to observe the mayor, but I could see Cllr Stringer and he seemed to feel genuinely aggrieved, did indeed look fed up and even a little bit furious!  The item was deferred in order for the mayor to obtain clarification.

Planning Applications

There was more unity on this item, but apparent conflict between Kidsgrove  Town Council and Newcastle Borough Council.  The main discussion was on an application by the Turners to build a house at 20 The Avenue, which had been lodged in 2008 but had been refused by Newcastle Borough Council for reasons involving trees.  Despite a new light survey which had passed tests and neighbour support, the application had been refused again and there seemed now to be a lack of communication and a meeting had been refused.  The Turners had asked for Kidsgrove Town Councillors to support their appeal.  Cllr Locke declared an interest as he had written a letter of support when he was a Staffordshire County Councillor.  He said he thought someone at Newcastle Borough Council got it wrong originally and doesn't want to admit this.  Other councillors were generally supportive and thought that at least the applicants should be getting replies and that Newcastle Borough Council should be asked to sort it out!

Dangerous Road

A councillor, Cllr John Parsons I think, said he was nearly killed and thinks someone will be killed if nothing is done, because of trucks travelling at speed using Jamage Road to access the A34. He asked for a letter to be written to businesses asking them to use Oak Tree Lane instead. Councillors agreed that Jill Waring, the town clerk, would write to Staffordshire County Council asking for a weight limit on Jamage Road.

Victoria Hall Decorating

The Victoria Hall is the Kidsgrove Town Council Building and it seems it requires some renovation. There seemed to be an awful lot of silliness with this item.  From an outsider's point of view I got the impression that Jill Waring, the town clerk, had been at a meeting about this some time ago but had left early and is now being excluded from meetings and information. Newcastle Borough Council was reported to have cancelled meetings or not invited Jill Waring.  Cllr Bates seemed to have a key involvement in meetings.  Cllr Waring and Cllr Stringer pressed Mayor Robinson to say whether he had been in meetings about the decoration without the clerk there and asked why?  Eventually Mayor Robinson admitted that he had met with Cllr Bates and an officer from Newcastle Borough Council about the decorating. Jill Waring said that an officer from Newcastle Borough Council had been told to give the information to Cllr Bates.  The crazy thing is that Victoria Hall is heavily used by the public and Jill Waring did not have the information to give to the public as to when the hall will be closed for decorating! Councillors agreed that they should write to Newcastle Borough Council requesting that Jill Waring be told the decorating plans.

Victoria Hall Ownership

This is an issue that had seemed to have dragged on for years and the town clerk was concerned about the length of time communications with Staffordshire County Council are taking.  Cllr Waring moved that the £500 land registry cost be paid as this is crucial to ownership, this was passed.  There were moves to get the land next to the Victoria Hall to belong to Kidsgrove.  Questions solicitors were asking included some about rights of way.  As a Stone Ramblers committee member myself I am interested in such things.  Ordnance Survey getamap provides a good method to look at footpaths etc. The nearest public footpath runs beside Kids Wood, but there is a cycle route, route 5 and part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council cycle ride 8 which passes just behind Victoria Hall.  In fact I'm leading a Stone Ramblers walk there on January 16th, but may divert down Liverpool Road so we can take a look at Victoria Hall.  Anyway, I've digressed.

Office Security and Use of Office Equipment

The meeting ended for members of the public as this item was to be discussed in a private session.  This led me to speculate whether all and sundry might have been getting in and using office equipment for purposes beyond the legitimate, but of course I make no such allegation as I know no facts because I wasn't allowed to stay for this discussion!  I thanked the mayor and left.

My Conclusions

I did find it interesting to observe this meeting and I thank the clerk, mayor and councillors for accommodating me.  

Prior to this I had reasonably positive views of the idea in principle of town and parish councils as a mechanism to bring recognised democracy closer to the grass routes.  I have to say that this meeting has influenced my views away from supporting town councils because of the unfortunate level to which party politics seems to pervade and interfere with proceedings, particularly Labour party in-fighting which I find frequently and universally tiresome.  I don't mind the idea of a little extra tax levy to enable  better local decisions at town council level but wouldn't like it just providing a further platform for the Labour party to indulge its childish antics. 

I was also concerned about conflicts and barriers between the different levels of council; town, borough and county, where I would hope for more cooperation.  Even at the cynical old age of 54, it seems my ideals are still too far removed from practical reality.  I wonder what the young student observer thought?

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Meeting 17/10/13

Life is busy and fun but I've just had time to catch up with the Stoke-on-Trent full council meeting and watched the webcast.  I present my personally selected 'highlights' with webcast times given in brackets.

Petition against coal bed methane extraction

Emanuel Blondel (00:16:00)  from 'Gas Free Stoke' presented a petition against coal bed methane extraction.  He expressed concerns about potential safety issues with the mine shafts and the effect on the water table.  He did not think drilling was needed as we have existing methane vents.  He said coal bed methane extraction would be contracted to large companies providing only poorly paid short term jobs.  He expressed a preference for energy from biomass and industrial heat and he wanted a more local focus.

Update on capital spending plans

Cllr Andy Platt (00:26:53) talked about the green enterprise programme and mentioned some of the issues raised in the petition.  He said a biomass boiler would be commissioned by the end of the month in Longton and a wood fuel processing hub should be operational by next summer although a site has yet to be selected.  He said they were looking at organic waste treatment but gave no details.  He also said they were considering geothermal sources including mine water although current investigations are inconclusive as to whether this is viable or not.  He mentioned that the ceramics industry uses gas but measures 800 ^oC on the roof where heat escapes.  He wants to find ways to use this to heat homes but didn't give further detail.  He said coal bed methane shouldn't be confused with shale gas and it would be useful to collect and use the coal bed methane readily available.

CllrJack Brereton (00:32:52) criticised the council's move of the civic centre and the risky debt involved.   He rightly pointed out that leaving out interior costs for the new building was misleading and verges on negligence.

Cllr Paul Breeze (00:44:09) also criticised the debt, lack of openness and lack of public support.  He said they were holding back the Potteries Shopping Centre from opening a business.  He accused the council leaders of recklessness and said he could not support the proposal.

Cllr Ann James (0:45:33) said she and the city independents had voted against the capital programme in February because they weren't happy with the risk assessment and costings, they are not allowed to debate this and at the last cabinet they were not allowed to call in the issue for scrutiny!  She criticised the accuracy of the figures because an extra £30million is now required including 7.5million for the central business district.  She questioned how many times it would come back requiring more money and said she would not support the proposal.

Cllr Adrian Knapper (0:52:19) talked about other cities and their shopping centre developments.  He seems to want another shopping centre, but we've got the Potteries shopping centre.  In my view it would be all very well having another one if there were any businesses or customers wanting it, but there doesn't appear to be much evidence of this.  

Walking in Italy near lake Iseo

Sale Marasino

I went with Stone Ramblers on a Ramblers Worldwide holiday to Italy September 8-22, 2013, staying at the Hotel Rotelli in Sale Marasino beside lake Iseo.   

It was excellent – ottimo!

There was a choice of walks each day, details of the walks I went on are as follows:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccckey=0AgnPMdnmyQhdC1SY2tKMzgya2JnTkQ0MXZnLVhjb0E#gid=0

Pisogne

Over the two weeks I walked a total of 131.5km (81.7 miles), including considerable hills, a total ascent of 7.3km and descent of 9.4km, excluding the two 'days off'.

On the first day of the holiday we went to Monte Isola, the biggest lake island in Europe, in lake Iseo.  The walk on the second day included Pisogne, a very nice town with the nicest ice cream. 

Corna Trentapassi

On the third day we went to the top of a hill called Corna Trentapassi, crosses are often hill to be found on the top of the hills. 

Alps from Corna Trentapassi

There was a good view from there towards the Alps.

Ancient rock engravings, CapodiPonte

For the days off there were suggested trips to local attractions. On the first day off I went by train to Capo di Ponte where there are some ancient rock engravings. These aren't too clear until you 'tune into' them but when you do it's very interesting, there was a good little museum.

Capo di Ponte

There were lovely mountain views in Capo di Ponte.

River Oglio

The river Oglio which feeds lake Iseo was also a good sight. 

The train fares in Italy seem to be a good deal more logical than in Britain, they seem to be calculated according to distance and don't appear to depend on time of day. Single fares as far as I could gather were half a return fare and the price is the same if bought on the train. British train fares are by comparison a complete nightmare to fathom.   
 

Monte Isola from Punta Almana

                                                             
On the first day after the day off we scaled the highest hill of the holiday, Punta Almana. From there is one of the few views of the island Monte Isola where you can see water all round it.
                             

The second day we walked from Lovere. The church bells in all the towns visited played very pretty tunes I thought. This one in Lovere is an example:

The third day was a rural walk near Portele.

Isle di Loreto

The fourth day we climbed a small hill from which there is a good view of the little Isle di Loreto. 

Earth erosion pyramids

Then we visited the most interesting thing I saw during the holiday; earth erosion pyramids where glaciers have brought down moraine rock debris in the past and deposited it. Some is fine grained sand and some is big boulders. Then the rain gradually washes the sand away leaving boulders sheltering huge columns. 

Mont Blanc from Ponte del Orto

On the fifth day we went to Ponte del Orto which isn't especially high but weather conditions were spectacular. We got a very good view of Mont Blanc which apparently you can't usually see because it's so far away and obscured by heat haze.   

Monte Agolo

On the sixth day we went up Monte Agolo. 

On the second day off I visited the city of Brescia, which has a large castle and also some interesting Roman remains, with a bit of Celtic influence too.

By the penultimate full day of the holiday the weather had turned and we were in cloud on the top of Monte Bronzone. When you get to the top of Monte Bronzone you ring the big bell, so I did:

On the last day I walked we went up Monte Rondondone.

On the day of our return journey I opted out of the short walk so I could pack at leisure and lounge around by the pool before going to a nearby restaurant for a large and very enjoyable lunch including a large range of meats, cheeses, anchovies, olives and some particularly good pumpkin pancakes, before returning home.

For me going away for two weeks was brilliant. For the first 4-5 days I just wanted more of it, by a week I was glad I wasn't with the group going home then as I was in the swing of things, after about 10-12 days I was starting to flag, the muscles ached a bit and I had a small blister. I enjoyed the remainder of the holiday but felt somewhat glad at the idea of a rest from walking after the 2 weeks.

A most essential item I took to Italy was insect repellent, which I had to smother myself with every day. This seems to vary from person to person, unfortunately I'm very tasty.

The things I liked least about Italy were the practice of caging wild birds such as blackbirds and song thrushes to lure others in to be shot and also the abundance of continuously barking dogs. The things I liked most other than the walking, views and delightful company were the very tuneful church bells, the bells on the cows and sheep and the many flavours of delicious ice cream.