Our Petition

Summary of Aim

PETITION TO RETAIN A TEMPORARY TOWN CENTRE LIBRARY AT SOUTHPORT MARKET HALL

Full Text of Petition

PETITION TO RETAIN A TEMPORARY TOWN CENTRE LIBRARY AT SOUTHPORT MARKET HALL

• Southport's town centre Library will have to shut for nearly 3 years from early 2010 while much-needed refurbishment work is undertaken on the Arts Centre and Library complex (the £15 million "Southport Cultural Centre" project).

• Sefton Council's ruling Cabinet considered this matter at a meeting held in Bootle on Thursday 12th November. By a narrow 6 - 4 margin it turned down a proposal put forward by the Liberal Democrats to relocate Southport Library to the currently vacant space at the rear of Southport Market Hall during the 3 years of building work. 3 Labour councillors and 3 Conservative councillors voted against having a temporary Library, while the 4 Liberal Democrats voted in favour.

• Accordingly, Southport will have no town centre Library for the next 3 years.

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We, the undersigned:

1. Believe that Southport cannot do without a town centre Library.

2. Call on Sefton Council to locate a temporary Library in the vacant space at the rear of the Southport Market Hall.

3. Believe that this would benefit library-users, and also market traders due to the extra 150,000 to 360,000 visits a year which there would be to "Southport's Library within a Market".