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Library is safe! Council bows to public opinion over closure

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Published Date:
02 October 2009
HALIFAX Central Library and archives have been saved.
Councillors have bowed to pressure from more than 16,000 people and scrapped plans to demolish the building in Northgate.
Instead, Calderdale Council has agreed to spend up to £1 million on upgrading and separating it from the nearby civic offices, which are due to be replaced.
It is more than a year since the council decided it wanted to move the library and offices to a new site, probably Broad Street, at a cost not exceeding £12 million. The aim was to sell the entire Northgate site for retail use.
But the library move sparked a huge wave of opposition, which culminated in a 16,000-name petition and an official consultation exercise which resulted in 95 per cent of those questioned giving the idea the thumbs down.
Councillors were told that failure to move the library could have significant financial implications.
Separating the heating, water and electrical services from the civic offices, Northgate House, catching up on a backlog of maintenance and refurbishment could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Retaining it could also reduce the resale value of the entire Northgate site by as much as half and make it harder to sell, according to the council's head of libraries and museum, Gary Borrows.
"Retaining the library will leave an awkward-shaped site which will limit the interest of potential developers and the subsequent site value," he told the council.

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  • Last Updated: 02 October 2009 3:45 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Halifax
 
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Peter Avinou,

02/10/2009 18:49:47
There must be something quite seriously wrong with the powers of reasoning in these people?
Why are they selling any part of the site, who sanctioned this and why?
They are talking heavy expense and why, it is only being incurred to satisfy them.
Please, for the first time since we had to be Calderdale, let us have the truth - I know it is difficult, but how many times have we asked and just when do they answer?
We now have to go through all the voting again, because they have moved the goal posts?
They cannot have the Library but we'll make a nuisance chopping up arounf it?
Petty, unthinking and entirely wasteful people.
Leave the site as is!
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Peter Avinou,

02/10/2009 18:53:31
Why was it left until today to release this news, someone thinking we would not pay much attention over the weekend perhaps.
They dodged a vote of no confidence, so it's on with the spending, the demolitions and the Town Centre disruptions. They coundn't give a damm!
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halifax avenger,

02/10/2009 18:57:17
So the head of Calderdale Libraries and Museums, Gary Borrows, was clearly in favour of moving the library. Some head of services - he clearly does not even support his own department! All he appears to be interested in is retail development and making money for the council. He should do the decent thing and resign now - along with all the rest of the useless officers and councillors who are currently running Calderdale.
And if the library is being saved then why not Northgate House as well? Again, the cost of bringing the building up to spec. will only be a fraction of the cost of demolition and rebuilding. The council were apparently thinking of spending £12 million on a new library. How much is it going to cost to replace Northgate House? And why this obsession with retail development? There are so many empty shops in Halifax, no more appear to be needed for years to come. It is going to be years before people are again spending on the level they were two years ago. Unemployment will continue to rise - just as it is the U.S.A. - where nearly 10% of the population are now out of work. So stop wasting money, and improve what you already have.
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halifax avenger,

02/10/2009 19:02:38
#1 Peter Avinou
I agree totally with you comments. I strongly suspect that some very shady dealing is going on over the Northgate site. I wonder who was making the promises and to whom? As you say, it is high time we had some honest answers over this matter. No doubt the usual rubbish about "commercial confidentiality" will be given - the usual doublespeak for corruption!
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Peter Avinou,

02/10/2009 19:16:49
#4
I ask those Liberals just what they landed us with last night when they took the easy way out?
All they achieved was giving our spendthrifts a signal that it was business as usual.
Less than 24 hours later, the proof is here. Carry on despite the public clearly saying NO to this development.
Next election there are going to be very few Liberals left to put on their turncoat act. They sold us down the river for a feeble reason.
A caretaker committee could have run the mess for a few months.
Cllr Battye you should be ashamed!
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Pedro Biblioteca,

02/10/2009 23:41:56
Great news
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RFH,

03/10/2009 05:02:39
During the consultation process, I queried why Northgate House should be demolished, and was told that it’s sinking on its foundations. Now, we could discuss why that was allowed to happen and why the then council didn’t deal correctly with the constructors, but, for the moment, I'm going to celebrate the fact that the library is safe.
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Peter Avinou,

03/10/2009 07:56:51
#6 RFH
One other very telling admission was the the story that there was a "backlog of Maintenance"
This is why Calderdale continually demolishes buildings, and for years this has been complained about too.
They neglect everything but themselves.
To allow buildings to get into a state where demolition becomes the only choice is incredibly stupid, dangerous and wastefully expensive.
Would you or I be able to afford to swap homes because we hadn't kept up with the wear and tear that comes with ownership?
Calderdale has no excuse whatever, it isn't even at their cost. We the CT payers foot the bills for their wilfull neglect in all things.
They build again, and again, ad.inf.
All the criticism is well deserved, and no political party can opt out of their share of the blame.
A true mess of immense proportion and cost.
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Peter Avinou,

03/10/2009 08:04:49
The Library is destined to become a building surrounded by non descript characterless buildings. The current CMBC desire - cheap and nasty, built for profit alone and Council Officers gratification - plus whatever else it is now thought they may get?
The whole thing to keep expensive public servants occupied, and a neglectful Council busy writing themselves up as a good Council, and publishing their own trumpeting in their own boastful magazine.
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RFH,

03/10/2009 08:17:59
I've heard that the buildings which previously stood on the site had cellars which were not adequately filled in before Northgate House was built. Now they're collapsing, in much the same way parts of Broad Street carpark is sinking into the ground.
But you're right about the neglect, Peter. The council have consistently failed to maintain both these buildings. Luckily the library is structurally sound.
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