The sole vehicle that we have been talking about was introduced 13 years ago ..for specific use in the Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth area. It was financed at that time by a S106 agreement..."the money having to be spent at the time..like a hot potato" I gather.The vehicle is thus 13 years old but it has only done some 45,000 miles. Many people who use the Library have died, many ports of call (nursing homes) are mainly busy with patients whose illnesses are incompatible with reading books..even pictures perhaps. But there's still plenty of scope of reaching residents who would welcome and benefit this key service.ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooIn recent times the Moblie Library's activities were curtailed a little so that it could act as a replacement service whilst the Beavers Library was being rebuilt. I gather that recently some 100 children at Beavers School used the Library in an hour or so...BUT NO MORE.THE MOBILE LIBRARY IS TO CEASE FRIDAY WEEK. end of July.The thing is that the vehicle is still roadworthy..and it is not necessary to PURCHASE a new vehicle. Apparently leasing is the way to go forward..and to extend the Library's routes to other parts of the Borough...Melody Court etc.So: Some facts are needed especially about the alternative ways of raising the finance.Here is a summary of previous contributions on this subject.ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooI wrote“”The question of the Borough's Library services was raised at the first new Borough Council meeting the other day..which I saw recently on the Civic Centre's webcam recording of the meeting.Cllr Adrian Lee raised the subject of the Mobile Library..and the vehicle attached to it..and the need to find funds to save it. He was aware of wastage elsewhere in the Council's expenditure””ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooPaul Allen wrote:””I hope they don’t do away with the mobile library, it’s a lifeline for a member of my family who is virtually house bound.It’s really a great service and the people who run it are very helpful and knowledgeable about the books you prefer to read.””OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooPaul Fisher wrote“”I will have a look at the webcast for confirmation Alan but I thought the immediate problem was the age and condition of the trailor currently being used and the cost of the replacement,I think 60k was mentioned.I do not recall Cllr Lee stating this service would be cancelled and I agree with you that this service particularly benefits many of our more vulnerable residents””OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAlan Sherrins wrotePaulYour colleague Cllr. Lee did say that the mobile service was to be cancelled, and that the books would be available locally (he did not explain what this meant) . And that they would try to find the money to reintroduce the mobile service at a later date. So it is the case the the mobile library will be cancelled, do you agree that this is the case? It is a service that particularily benefits many of our more vulnerable residents, it would be a pity if it was cancelled for good and i hope that the new ICG/Tory adminsitartion will be true to their word about this service.OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAlan sherrins further wrote:“”I find it surprising that £60K cannot be found in the budget of hundreds of millions. Where are all those efficiency savings that you said you would make? I realise that you are not an executive member yourself and will not have the information to hand. However I am a little suspicious……”OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooCouncillor Adrian Lee then responded to Alan””The mobile library service WILL be restored to the west end of the Borough at the first possible opportunity. It was a cut that I inherited from the previous Labour administration that arose because the exiting vehicle needs replacing and they felt that they did not have the money to do so. The Labour administration regarded it as a "cut" and had no plans to restore the service. I disagreed with their view and made the pledge that we would bring the service back just as soon as we can find £60,000 (the cost of a new custom-built vehicle) from S.106 funds to do so. This is a top priority as our administration are determined to make no cuts to the Borough's library services. In the meantime, sadly, the service has been "suspended" with all of the book stock usually carried in the van being stationed variously at the different community centres where the vehicle used to stop. All of these books will remain available to the reading public in the interim.””ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Jim Lawes ● 6892d