Libraries and children's centres to be sold off

More than 100 libraries, children’ws centres and other facilities will be sold off as Lancashire County Council bids to save £200m by 2020.

The bombshell recommendation were made in a 1,468-page document released by county officials at shortly before 8pm on the Friday before a Bank Holiday Weekend.

The centres earmarked for being sold off are:

Burnley Belmont Community Centre

Burnley Briercliffe Library

Burnley Brunshaw Young People’s Centre

Burnley Burnley Campus Library

Burnley Hapton Young People’s Centre

Burnley Padiham Young People’s Centre

Burnley Pike Hill Library

Burnley Rosegrove Library

Burnley Stoops and Hargher Clough Young People’s Centre

Chorley Adlington Library and Children’s Centre (designated)

Chorley Astley and Buckshaw Children’s Centre (designated)

Chorley Blossomfields Children’s Centre (Eccleston)

Chorley Chorley Adult Disability Day Service (Holly Trees)

Chorley Chorley Youth Offending Team (Halliwell Street)

Chorley Clayton Brook Children’s Centre (designated)

Chorley Coppull Children’s Centre (designated)

Chorley Coppull Young People’s Centre

Chorley Eccleston Young People’s Centre

Chorley Highfield Children’s Centre (designated)

Chorley Millfield Children’s Centre (Brinscall) (designated)

Chorley The Zone in Chorley

Fylde Ansdell Library

Fylde Freckleton Library

Fylde Kirkham Library

Fylde Kirkham Young People’s Centre

Fylde Lower Lane Young People’s Centre

Fylde Lytham Children’s Centre

Fylde Lytham Library and Registration Office

Fylde Orchard Children’s Centre (Freckleton) (designated)

Fylde Pear Tree Children’s Centre (Kirkham) (designated)

Hyndburn Accrington Youth OffendingTeam (Blake Street)

Hyndburn Clayton-le-Moors Library

Hyndburn Clayton-le-Moors Young People’s Centre

Hyndburn Great Harwood Young People’s Centre

Hyndburn Huncoat Children’s Centre (designated)

Hyndburn Oswaldtwistle Library

Hyndburn Oswaldtwistle Young People’s Centre

Hyndburn Rishton Library

Hyndburn

Sure Start Hyndburn - Accrington South Children’s Centre (The Beeches)

(designated)

Lancaster Balmoral Children’s Centre (Morecambe) (designated)

Lancaster Barton Road Young People’s Centre

Lancaster Bolton-le-Sands Library

Lancaster Carnforth Library

Lancaster Firbank Children’s Centre (designated)

Lancaster Galgate Children’s Centre (Ellel)

Lancaster Heysham Children’s Centre and Young People’s Centre (designated)

Lancaster Lancaster Registration Office

Lancaster Morecambe Registration Office

Lancaster Poulton Children’s Centre (Morecambe) (designated)

Lancaster Ryelands Young People’s Centre

Lancaster Silverdale Library

Pendle Barnoldswick Young People’s Centre

Pendle Barrowford Library

Pendle Brierfield Library

Pendle Brierfield Young People’s Centre

Pendle Colne Young People’s Centre

Pendle Earby Library

Pendle Pendleside Children’s Centre (Barrowford)

Pendle Trawden Library and Riverside Children’s Centre

Pendle Trawden Young People’s Centre

Preston Fulwood Library

Preston Preston East Children’s Centre (designated)

Preston St Lawrence Children’s Centre (Barton)

Ribble Valley Chatburn Library

Ribble Valley Longridge Young People’s Centre

Ribble Valley Read Library

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley Adult Disability Day Services (Pendleton Brook)

Ribble Valley Slaidburn Young People’s Centre

Ribble Valley Whalley Library and Spring Wood Children’s Centre

Ribble Valley Willows Park Children’s Centre (Longridge) (designated)

Rossendale Bacup Library

Rossendale Balladen Children’s Centre (Rawtenstall) (designated)

Rossendale Crawshawbooth Library

Rossendale Rossendale Registration Office

Rossendale Staghills Children’s Centre (designated)

Rossendale Whitewell Bottom Community Centre

Rossendale Whitworth Library

Rossendale Whitworth Young People’s Centre

South Ribble Bamber Bridge Children’s Centre (designated)

South Ribble Bamber Bridge Library

South Ribble Kingsfold Children’s Centre (designated)

South Ribble Longton Children’s Centre

South Ribble Lostock Hall Library and Children’s Centre

South Ribble Penwortham Library

South Ribble Penwortham Young People’s Centre

South Ribble Wellfield Children’s Centre (designated)

West Lancashire Burscough Library

West Lancashire Children’s Social Care (Fairlie Skelmersdale)

West Lancashire Hesketh with Becconsall Children’s Centre

West Lancashire Moorgate Children’s Centre (Ormskirk) (designated)

West Lancashire Ormskirk Derby Street Day Centre (older people)

West Lancashire Parbold Library

West Lancashire St John’s Children’s Centre (Skelmersdale) (designated)

West Lancashire Upholland Library

Wyre Cleveleys Library and Children’s Centre

Wyre Fleetwood Children’s Centre (designated)

Wyre Garstang Young People’s Centre

Wyre Northfleet Library

Wyre Over Wyre Children’s Centre (Hambleton satellite)

Wyre Over Wyre Children’s Centre (Preesall satellite)

Wyre Poulton-le-Fylde Children’s Centre

Wyre Preesall Young People’s Centre

Wyre Rural Wyre Children’s Centre (Garstang) (designated)

Wyre Thornton Library

Wyre Thornton Young People’s Centre

Wyre Thornton Youth Offending Team (Marsh Mill)

The county council’s cabinet will be asked to agree revised plans to save millions of pounds, by reducing the number of buildings the council owns and rents, after seeking people’s views during an extensive consultation.

Feedback from 7,700 responses has been taken into account in forming the proposals to bring services together to form a network of multi-functional buildings known as Neighbourhood Centres, which would provide a base for a range of different services in one place.

The plans, which form part of the council’s property strategy, propose changes to where some services including libraries, children’s services, children’s centres, young people’s centres, youth offending teams, older people’s daytime support services, adult disability day services and registrars are delivered in the future.

More than 100 buildings would no longer be used for county council services and the number of places at which some services are available would reduce.

The cabinet will also be asked to agree to explore proposals made by a number of community groups and other organisations to take on responsibility for running some of the affected buildings and services.

The changes are in response to Lancashire County Council’s need to save £200m by 2020/21 as a result of ongoing government cuts to its budget and rising demand for services.

The report to the council’s cabinet published late on Friday outlines changes to the original plans, following a 12-week consultation held from 18 May to 14 August, with a number of revisions to which buildings are being proposed to house future services.

County Coun David Borrow, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and portfolio holder for finance, said: “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation – their feedback has been invaluable in helping to shape the final proposals and the Cabinet will be giving the report careful consideration.

“Our aim is to find a solution that still gives everyone in Lancashire good access to good services, despite the pressures on the council’s budget. We have done a lot of work to assess where services should be located in future, taking account of things such as geographic spread, accessibility and the needs of different communities. Some of the changes to the proposals reflect what people have told us about the way they access these services.

“We’re also keen to continue exploring the potential for other groups and organisations to take on responsibility for some of the affected buildings and services, so we’re grateful for the interest that has been shown in that possibility over the last few months. The report acknowledges that more work will be needed to assess the business cases that have been put forward.”

The report also asks councillors to agree plans to explore alternative options for the future delivery of library services, with a focus on examining whether community-run libraries could add to the statutory service provided by the county council.

A package of help is proposed to help establish any community-run library, including £5,000 to cover set-up costs, shelving, an initial supply of books from the county’s store, and advice from a dedicated community library development officer.