Families gathered at the new library which is yet to open. Image: Friends of South Norwood Library. Campaigners in Croydon are fighting to save the borough s libraries from closing after the declaration of a Section 114 notice and effective bankruptcy from the council has placed them under serious threat. Community organisers with Croydon Communities Consortium (CCC) scheduled an online meeting for Wednesday (December 16) with the aim of addressing what was described as widespread anger from many residents at the jeopardy the council s financial situation had placed the libraries in. Concerns escalated after the cabinet member for leisure, Councillor Oliver Lewis, suggested the future of council funding for libraries would be looked at as part of a public consultation on how to make the daunting savings now being forced upon the council after the Section 114 declaration.
Dozens of families came out to support their local library amid fears council cuts could see it closed for good. The future of five Croydon libraries has been left hanging in the balance as the council works to close a £67 million gap in the budget. Croydon Council has said Broad Green, Bradmore Green, Sanderstead, Shirley and South Norwood libraries could all be lost. As part of a £500,000 council plan, South Norwood Library was due to move from its current ‘outdated and inaccessible’ Lawrence Road site into a new space in Station Road, on the ground floor of Brick by Brick development Pump House.