A third public meeting was held on 11 November, by Cllr Graham Turner supported by Kirklees library officers
in the Council offices in Sklemanthorpe. The meeting was well attended despite
it being a wet misty night, by about 30 residents.
Following an introduction and an update on the problem of the budget cuts
and the impact they will have on services such as the library, a question and
answer session followed. Various issues where discussed and many issues where
raised about the plans for the library service in Sklemanthorpe going forward.
There was also an update on the role the Parish Council could play
in future developments, from the Chair of the Councils finance committee
and the current Chair of the Council. They were able to report to the meeting
that the Parish Council has agreed to set up a working party which is to meet
as soon as possible to look at the mechanism where-by the Parish Council could
have the current Council building asset transferred to the Parish Council who
would then own their own home; they could then look at ways of creating a
more vibrant well used community based building for the benefit of all
the residents in the Denby Dale Ward.
It was agreed that a committee would be set up and would meet in January 2015 to
look at how, as a village, we can support a community run library in the future.
A
core group of 8 people have agreed to form the committee, who will work closely
with the library service officers to look at alternatives to the current
delivery method of the library service, as Kirklees comes to terms with its cuts
in funding from central Government.
Cllr Graham Turner stressed that any solution has to come from the community.
“It’s your community and your service so you must get involved and find a way
forward in these difficult times”
