Decision details

Cabinet received a report from the Cabinet Member for City Centre Management, Culture and Tourism.

The purpose of the report was to allow Cabinet to consider the consultation responses received from the first consultation process, and subsequent approval for the next steps on libraries including a second, eight week public consultation on possible, affordable delivery approaches, to libraries which would meet the Council’s statutory obligations.

Cabinet considered the report and RESOLVED:

1)  To consider the responses received to the first consultation as set out in the report; and

2)  To approve the basis for the second public consultation on the future delivery model of library services in Peterborough.

The reasons for the report were for Cabinet to approve the proposed new approach to delivering Peterborough’s library services in the future and approval to conduct a second consultation.

The Council have explored, but for now discounted two other options for the delivery of library services in Peterborough that would achieve a similar level of saving:

1)        The option of putting all of the available staffing resource into Central Library to create an enhanced 7 day city centre offer, supplemented by the library mobile service;

2)        Central, Bretton, Orton, Werrington and Dogsthorpe libraries remain open with reduced staff hours, but will be available for further hours with no staff. Hampton remains as a purely self-service library.

3)        Eye, Dogsthorpe, Stanground, Thorney and Woodston libraries will close. However if community groups come forward any of these can remain open by being run by volunteers at no additional cost to the Council.

None.

Existing Council strategies, the Funding and Management Agreement dated 1 May 2010 between the Council and Vivacity, and published documents by the Arts Council and Cities outlook 2014.