Campaigners fight plans to reduce library size

Paula Flood, from Netherton, has been attending the knitting social group at Bretton Library for 10 years

A campaigner has hit out at plans to cut the size of her local library.

Paula Flood said Peterborough City Council's plans meant Bretton Library would no longer be fit for purpose.

She has gathered about 350 signatures on her 'Save Bretton Library' petition.

The council said the library would still have access to half the space it currently had.

Bretton Library is spread across three floors and offers facilities such as computers, printing and e-books, and is a venue for various social groups

The authority hopes to repurpose the three-floor facility located within The Cresset.

It is due to house a team from a dementia resource centre, being moved from a former council building on York Road that was sold to help balance the authority's budget.

The council has agreed to spend £300,000 on the refurbishment, due to be complete by next spring.

Under the plans, the library will be confined to the base level.

Ms Flood, a regular visitor and volunteer at the library, said it was a big part of her life and that she had lost sleep over the plans.

She believes the library "will not serve the purpose" any more and will be challenging for wheelchair users to access.

"We are not against the new centre. It is the council we are upset with," she said.

"If they sell all their assets they will have nothing left. It's short-sighted."

She said users were "not being informed" of what was going on.

People from across the city and beyond used Bretton Library, she said, including people from Eye whose own library had closed.

"We need to be promoting reading and offering free spaces like the library," she added.

City councillor and cabinet member for Peterborough, Dr Shabina Asad Qayyum, said the library plans are still being finalised

Dr Shabina Asad Qayyum, Labour cabinet member for adult social care at the council, said plans were "still work in progress" but that a library would function from the building.

"We understand the anxiety and want to reassure them that they will have access to 50% of space it currently has," she said.

"There are various stakeholders involved and it's difficult to say at this stage what the final position for the library will be."

She said the council had a duty to look after the frail and vulnerable and that the Cresset offered an accessible location with good transport links for the dementia centre.

"We urge anyone with concerns to speak to council officers," she added.

"We need to have conversations to reassure people that facilities are not being taken away from the community."

The Cresset in Bretton is a large community space that includes the library, a pub, independent businesses and the Cresset Theatre