Victory (of sorts) for campaigners as Friends of Kensal Rise Library are named as tenants of library and community space
After months of negotiations, the Friends of Kensal Rise Library are to be named as the 'Actual' tenants of the new library and community space in the Kensal Rise Library building.
Previously the Friends were named only as the 'preferred' tenants, leading many to think that the agreement FKRL had signed with both All Souls College and the Developer was not watertight and carried no legal weight, and, that after years of campaigning there was a chance that other groups might be offered the space.
Mandip Sahota, Associate planner for the developer stated:
Further to advice provided by the LPA in respect of the Assets of Community Value Regulations 2012, I am pleased to advise that the applicant has today confirmed that he is naming FKRL as the ‘actual’ tenant, as opposed to his ‘preferred’ tenant, subject of course to lease negotiations, management plan etc. being satisfactory.
We trust this goes some way to giving the Council, the FKRL and the local community the confidence to support this application.
Margaret Bailey, Chair of FKRL said:
This is a real breakthrough and achievement, and thanks must go to our Trustees and committee for their hard work in achieving this.
We also thank our community for supporting us and local councillors, especially Roxanne Mashari, who has worked on our behalf for some time. This has been a long campaign with many obstacles. We hope now to be able to focus on creating a library and community space for all in our community.
Anyone that has been following this long and hard fought campaign can’t but admire the spirit of perseverance that led to this outcome. The Save the Kensal Rise Library became the symbol of many other similar campaigns concerning libraries across England.
They managed to put the campaign on the map: on the national and international press, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Star, Independent on Sunday, Guardian, The Sun, Evening Standard, New Statesman, Spectator, Harrow Observer, Willesden & Brent Times, as well as national television coverage on BBC (including BBC2 Newsnight), Channel 4 and ITV, and also on national radio, and international news coverage, from France’s Le Monde and Italy’s La Republica to India’s Tribune. They gathered support from prominent figures from the worlds of the arts and music (including Alan Bennett, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith, Nick Cave and Pet Shop Boys); they fundraised to take Brent Council to court – and later to the High Court. They carried on when all seemed lost, motivated by the local support and strong community spirit.
In essence these are people like you and I: people with many other commitments, work to go to, kids to look after, bills to pay (did we mention Council Tax?), paperwork to deal with, house to clean, etc., etc. Campaigning requires a lot of time, commitment and spirit. Councils and developers have the funds and are paid to deal with this sort of dissent; local people who campaign do this with whatever time they have left often at the cost of other obligations. We cannot but congratulate the Save the Kensal Rise Library campaigners for their achievement. They are model citizens – an example to follow.
Margaret Bailey, chairwoman of the group, said to the Standard in March this year the new proposal “seems like the best compromise. We started with nothing. The council gave the building back to the college and we had absolutely nothing. Although the ideal would have been the whole building, what’s paramount for us is that we have a part of that ... We got two thirds of the ground floor and that’s some achievement. Compromises have been made but we were determined to have a library in that building.”
It’s these two thirds that has now been agreed and set in stone in the Council meeting that took place yesterday. However a look at the comments for the application will reveal that many who were also campaigning opposed this outcome.
Reasons for objection included:
- Library was opened by Mark Twain and was under a covenant to be a free reading room and NOTHING ELSE
- The building has been listed as an Asset of Community Value
- This loss of a public building, given in perpetuity to the people of Brent,
- The neighbourhood is already densely populated
- This building is currently classified as non-residential and community use D1 - and has been since the library was build with a combination of philanthropy and community contribution.
- Changing a community asset from D1 usage to private dwellings is a serious loss to our area
When one looks at whole process it’s obvious that the change of use and closure of the library was against the wishes of the larger part of the community. Yet Brent Council, despite strong local feelings still decided over and over again against them. It begs belief that the Council has managed to take it away in the first place. This reflects the detachment between local policies/politicians and the citizens they’re meant to represent. What was an asset of community and educational value is now mostly a financial asset.
There’s also this precedent where assets that are given to communities are at risk of being lost when the financial gains derived are greater. In essence what people believe to be secure is in fact at risk. “In perpetuity” is no longer so. There’s a clear shift of core values and this is a poor reflection of our times.
Given that is the Council who ultimately lays down the rules of engagement, the campaigners have to play by their book or risk losing everything. This is true with most campaigns. The compromise is often the outcome as it was here. The irony of the Realpolitik is such that a campaigner stated “the council that closed the library is promoting themselves as helping to 'save' these closed libraries, by supporting a deal for minimal community space within high-end residential developments. “
Despite the obvious losses and shortcomings, we applaud the results achieved. Campaigning is a long and exhausting road. Let’s just hope that Brent Council and the developer keep to the agreement.