Residents views being sought to shape Church Stretton library service
Residents in Church Stretton and the surrounding area are being asked their views to help shape what the library service will look like in future in the town.
Shropshire Council’s library budgets have been significantly reduced due to cuts in central government funding.
Church Stretton Library
To tackle this challenge, the council has been successfully working with local communities and organisations across the county to find sustainable solutions that will secure library provision for the future.
Through this process, Shropshire Council received expressions of interest from local organisations, who submitted their initial proposals on how a library service could be operated.
The council now want to ask local people their thoughts around what they feel are the key factors for a successful library service in the town.
Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and leisure, said:
“Our vision is to ensure libraries in Shropshire remain at the heart of local communities. Much time and resource has gone into working with local people to ensure libraries continue to thrive and provide the services that residents want. We therefore hope people in Church Stretton will get involved in this survey.”
Residents can complete the survey online at http://new.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/library-services-in-church-stretton or visit the ‘Get Involved’ pages on the Shropshire Council website shropshire.gov.uk.
Paper copies are available at the following locations: the library, leisure centre, Mayfair Health and Well-being Centre, and Church Stretton Town Council’s office.
The closing date for the survey is Monday 10 July 2017 at 5pm.
To find out more about Church Stretton Library and what it offers visit https://new.shropshire.gov.uk/libraries/find-a-library/church-stretton-library/ .
Further information
Based on the feedback from the survey, criteria will be developed and incorporated into a public procurement exercise where organisations can submit their full proposals for the operation of a library service for the town. It is anticipated that once a bidder has been chosen, the new arrangements for the library service will be in place by the summer of 2018.
Shropshire Council is taking a locality approach to commissioning services. Engagement with local partners to support and retain the local delivery of a range of services and activities is a vital component of this work.
For the library service, this has meant working within local communities to find sustainable solutions that will secure library provision for the future. It has been recognised that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, so approaches have varied, depending on local circumstances and priorities.
The Community Right to Challenge process is the approach being taken to secure the continuation of a library service in Church Stretton. For more details of this process, please visit https://shropshire.gov.uk/doing-business-with-shropshire-council/community-right-to-challenge/
