04 Feb Stephen Metcalfe MP Visits Vange Library to Highlight Potential Closure
Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, visited Vange Library in Basildon last week following the announcement that it faces closure by Essex County Council after bring identified as ‘unaffordable’.
Stephen has therefore called on residents to visit the library, become a member and take part in County Council’s Consultation Survey, which is due to end on the 20th February.
Essex County Council have identified Vange Library in Basildon as a ‘Tier 4’ library and plan to close it once public consultation is completed. In their Strategy the County Council have evaluated library sites using a criteria which weights the proximity of one library to another far more than the prevalence of social isolation in the local area (weighted at just 5%).
Stephen Metcalfe is concerned that this methodology has undervalued the important multifunctional role Vange Library has within the community, especially for the socially isolated.
Vange Library currently offers a wide range of community services such as: a Leisurely Ladies Book Club, a Work Club supporting those seeking work, computer provision, a hearing aid battery collection point and a Baby and Toddler Rhymetime club to support young parents.
