EXCLUSIVE: Manningham Sports Centre closure hits seniors - AGAIN!

Next door to the closure-threatened Manningham Pool, Manningham Sports Centre in Carlisle Road, Bradford, is to close during the day from April 18.

Though no official announcement has been made, staff at the centre have been told that the present 9am opening is to be changed to 4pm from that date. This will threaten the seniors' exercise sessions, currently attracting about a dozen over-50 keep fit enthusiasts every Thursday morning, as well as the large number of local residents of all ages who use the gym and other facilities during the day.

Schools access to the Centre will still be available during the day, so it is dubious that the closure will have anything but a marginal effect on the Council budget.

Since tickets for the adjoining pool have to be bought at the Centre, it is not known how swimmers will gain access. Perhaps the Pool will be closed on April 18, also.

A meeting with staff is planned for Wednesday at 1pm - coinciding with a large-scale demo by schools, churches and others opposed to the closure of the Pool, starting at 12.30pm.

Meanwhile, the action committee campaigning for the Pool to stay open has its inaugural meeting at St Paul's Church, Skinner Lane, at 12.30pm on Friday, April 8, attended by local churches, schools, and individuals . If in fact the Pool is slated to close just ten days later, the campaigners will have to get their act together very fast.

Libraries closure deadline: June 30, 2011

The following document is being handed out to users of Heaton library - and no doubt to the other four libraries that are due for closure. It advises that the closures will be rushed through in the next two-to-three months.
There's also the issue of how long mobile services will survive, judging from what's happening to other places.
If you respond, please copy your response as a comment to this posting.

March 2011

You may have read in the press about proposals for reductions in Council spending in
order to address a funding shortfall of £56m in 2011/12. In 2012/13 the Council will have to address a further £24m, making a cumulative saving of £80million over the two years. This has arisen because the Government’s formula grant to Bradford has been reduced by £35m and specific grants by a further £19m. In addition, Council services have had to find savings to offset service pressures and price increases.


As part of this it has been necessary to review expenditure on the library service and proposals to reduce expenditure on this area of the Council’s service include closing the 5 smallest libraries in the District - Addingham, Denholme, Heaton, Wilsden and Wrose, all of which are open for less than ten hours per week.


The proposal is that these libraries will close from 30th June 2011 and will be replaced initially by the mobile library service. The mobile library will provide a similar level of service – book lending, ICT access and information. It is the intention that each community will receive a similar number of hours of service to their current allocation although the times/days of the service may vary - a timetable will be available shortly for those communities.


All the staff who currently work in these libraries will be redeployed to other libraries in the district.


In conjunction with this the Council will consult with local communities about how best to deliver their library service in the light of the reductions to the library service budget. The Council will also carry out a community needs assessment.


A Libraries Review carried out last year recommended a number of different models for the provision of services including community managed libraries using volunteers, a self-service library offer in another community facility, or in a retail outlet and better use of the mobile library service. The full Libraries Review report can be found on the library service webpages at www.bradford.gov.uk/libraries/ and then click on the Library Reports and Policies link.


We will be consulting widely in the coming weeks but we would welcome your comments at any time during this process. If you include your contact details we will make sure you are kept informed about any future consultation meetings etc.


Please hand in your comments at your local library or send your comments through to the Libraries Manager, Central Library, Prince’s Way, BRADFORD, BD1 1NN or you can email to public.libraries@bradford.gov.uk.

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