Leeds council executive board round-up

Leeds councillors today agreed to move towards the potential closure of up to 20 libraries in Leeds. Members of the council's powerful executive board agreed to hold a public consultation into the future of the city's library services. At the Civic Hall this afternoon, a report suggested 20 of the city's poorly-used smaller libraries could close, that the city's remaining libraries open longer to compensate for any loss in service and that the city's mobile library network be extended. The report detailed a 'new vision for the future of the library service in Leeds' and says the proposals will make books and services more accessible and provide a better service for Leeds people. There could be estimated savings worth £700,000 in a full year to the council. Libraries facing potential closure include: Allerton Bywater; Armley Heights; Belle Isle; Broad Lane; Cow Close; Drighlington; Holbeck; Ireland Wood; Kirkstall; Lofthouse; Methley; Osmondthorpe; Rawdon; Richmond Hill; Scholes; Shadwell; Swarcliffe; Swillington; Swinnow and Whinmoor. Labour's Adam Ogilvie spoke about the £3.5 million cost of bringing up to standard some of the the smaller libraries across Leeds. Liberal Democrat leader Stewart Golton said people would feel short-changed if the library was their the only community facility and it faced closure. He said each individual community should get a fair hearing. Council leader Keith Wakefield urged councillors not to close their minds and be open to sharing facilities and buildings. He added: "It's not just about the budget cuts next week, it's about improving services for local people. Let's use our imagination - can the services become mobile? Can bigger libraries take over? Can services be housed in other local facilities. It's about getting a better service." He said library services needed to modernise and adapt as more people went online. Conservative councillor John Procter said: "Despite all the warm words, this is all about closing 20 libraries across Leeds." Wakefield said that was a nice headline that might get used, but added that the proposal came from the library service about modernising services and that today wasn't about closures, it was about starting a consultation. The council agreed to enter a period of public consultation over the proposals. The results of the consultation will be brought back to the executive board. South Leeds Sports Centre closed Councillors this afternoon agreed to close South Leeds Sports Centre. They decided they could not continue to pay the costs of keeping the facility open. The decision was taken four months after the authority had given it a stay of execution sto allowcommunity development organisation Tiger 11 to work up a viable plan to take the facility into community ownership. Negotiations between the council and Tiger 11 are still ongoing, and councillors agreed to receive a report in December on whether the negotiations have been successful. Conservative John Procter said that "indecision" from the Labour group - and alleged "inactivity and prevarication" - over the past four months had cost the taxpayers of Leeds £129,000 in keeping the facility open. Procter also criticised a council report which unfavourably compared user numbers at the centre from a four-month period last year to the same period this. He said the centre was only open part time and said the report was misleading. Council leader Wakefield added: "I had a meeting with the Splashback campaigners wanting to keep the facilities open and was very impressed with what they had to say. I know this part of Leeds very well and I know it needs sports facilities - a council shouldn't be running sports facilities to make a profit. "We have a social responsibility for people's health and wellbeing and narrowing the gap." Councillors agreed to support the recommendation to close the centre, but continue negotiations with Tiger 11. Other decisions included: * Councillors approved the refurbishment of the 40-year-old Woodhouse Lane multi-storey car park so that it serves the new Leeds Arena, which is due to open in 2013. The refurbishment will cost about £5.8m and will be financed from money from the arena project * Councillors also backed a shake-up council house letting rules to favour local people who have been on the waiting list for a long time. Labour councillor Peter Gruen hailed the city-wide consultation which attracted more than 2,000 responses over a major shift in the way council housing in Leeds is let. The proposals could see up to 25% of council homes let to those who have been on the waiting list the longest and have a connection to the area. The council is also proposing to give greater preference for overcrowded households with dependent children and penalise people who deliberately worsen their circumstances so that they can get a council home. Gruen said the new system will be fairer and help the most disadvantaged people in the city. * Council leader Wakefield proposed forming a special group made up of the five different party leaders on the council to work together to pull the authority through imminent cuts and preserve services. He said: "We are about to enter the most difficult period local and central government has ever seen. It's important we're all working together on this. I feel people of Leeds won't think well of us if we sit here slinging buns at each other. They want all parties to work together and put services first." Conservative councillor Procter said the consultation with other party leaders must be genuine. Green Party leader Ann Blackburn agreed that people want councillors to be 'all grown up about it' and that 'putting our heads together to find a way around the cuts' is the way forward. Executive board live blog earlier today Apologies to those of you who were following our live blog on this meeting earlier this afternoon. Unfortunately technical problems down in London led to some sections of the report becoming corrupted. We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and thanks those who commented on the post.