Dear Herne Hill Conservative Action Team:

Thank you for your note regarding the Carnegie Library.

Can I repeat, once again, that Carnegie Library is not closing. I hope that this is sufficiently clear – it is not a difficult statement to understand so I am disappointed that local Conservatives have continued to disseminate misinformation for their own gain.

I am however pleased that the Conservatives have finally chosen to verify the council’s position on this matter. It might have been better had you done so before launching a scare campaign which has done nothing but alarm those Friends who have contributed so much to the library, and demoralise the hard working and dedicated officers in our libraries service.

You will no doubt be pleased to hear that this Labour administration, far from cutting provision, has secured an additional £1.6 million to invest in cultural services in this financial year. Over £350,000 of this money will be spent on our libraries, building on growing investment in the service over the last 3 years. This is only one of the many ways in which Labour has increased spending on front line services in Lambeth – benefiting our children and young people through greater investment in youth services, the elderly with new lunch clubs, and everybody through twice as much funding to improve roads and pavements.

I am quite certain that residents would prefer that I spend my time doing my best to improve Lambeth, rather than responding to unsubstantiated scare campaigns that do nothing but create unease and waste energy.

For that reason and for the benefit of the Herne Hill Conservatives can I say one last time that there are no plans to close Carnegie, or any other library. There is nothing else to be said on the matter.

Councillor Rachel Heywood

Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities

Labour member for Coldharbour ward