Plea for Croydon council to ‘rethink’ proposal to close Shirley library – South London News

By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents have called on Croydon council to reconsider plans to close Shirley Library, claiming it would get more traffic if it was open more often.

This follows news that the council could close a further three libraries due to a post-Covid drop in visits as well as the overall running costs of all 13 libraries in the borough.

According to the board’s review, published earlier in the year, Shirley Library has suffered over the past few years from particularly low numbers.

However, some Shirley residents believe the council has allowed the library to suffer by limiting opening hours and failing to maintain the building’s historic facade.

The Save Our Shirley Library group was set up three weeks ago to try to force the council to reconsider its plan.

They set up a petition, which has attracted around 1,800 signatures, calling on the council to save what group leader Hugh Atkinson calls “Shirley’s symbol”.

Mr Atkinson said: “The library is the only place in Shirley that people can use for free.

“Besides being important for all sorts of things, the library is important because it makes Shirley feel like a place rather than an anonymous urban area you just drive through.

“One of the key things about Shirley, which the council itself points out, is that it has seen a lot of younger families move in, as well as a lot of older residents, and a lot of those people rely on the library.

“The problem for young people who use the library is that it is not open at very convenient times. I was there the other day and there were some young girls there reading books and revising for their sociology studies.

“There are a lot of kids like that where it’s a little too noisy for them at home, and the library is a good space to study. If it were open more, more people could use it.”

In addition to its book and computer services, the library also hosts a number of groups that serve the diverse community. These include Games Club, Knit and Natter, Poetry Group, Rhyme Time for Children and The Shared Reading run by the Reader Project.

Shirley Library is open Wednesdays and Fridays only, 10:00am to 6:00pm. All but one of Croydon’s libraries have significantly shortened their opening hours since the onset of Covid in 2020, this reduction was also a result of the tight spending constraints imposed on the borough following its bankruptcy.

The council has previously suggested Shirley residents could use the nearby Ashburton library if Shirley Library closes. However, Mr Atkinson feels that this school library is not a suitable alternative.

He said: “Ashburton Library is effectively part of Oasis Academy Shirley Park and it is not an easy place to get to. Shirley Library is on five different bus routes, so it’s a very easy place for people to get to.

“The Shirley Library is also a beautiful art deco building and has just been neglected.

“Croydon has one of the lowest library spends in London, we’re talking very small amounts of money. Last year Croydon was London’s Borough of Culture and it looks like they’re making a mockery of that by closing local libraries.”

Croydon Council said the possible closure would allow it to focus on providing extended opening hours and better outreach services for its nine remaining centres. They also said six libraries (Central, Ashburton, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selsdon and Coulsdon) could return to opening five to six days a week as a result of the changes.

A council spokesman said: “Library opening hours have been reduced following the council’s financial collapse in April 2020. Working with our library staff, residents and partners, we have carried out a thorough review of all our library services.

“The results of this will be published in September. We will continue to work with volunteers and partners to provide the best possible library service.”

Top image: A sign that says it all (Image: Friends of Shirley Library)

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