The SNP Group at South Lanarkshire Council have slammed the announcement that South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) are set to withdraw from 37 community halls and 7 libraries, saying that the cuts will have a devastating effect on communities.
The SNP’s alternative budget — proposed in February but voted down by the Unionist parties — would have invested an additional £605k to SLLC, on top of reversing proposed cuts to their budget.
A spokesperson for the SNP group said;
“Certain Labour Councillors are merrily posting on social media that they have ‘saved’ local facilities through their budget. Our communities tell us they can see this for what it is – a sham.
“The Labour-led Administration not only cut SLLC’s funding, and rejected our proposal for additional funding, they are now trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes with their temporary ‘fightback fund’.
“All that facilities have been guaranteed is a stay of execution. There is real anger that communities are now being asked to ‘fight’ for their facilities, when it became clear on budget day that the Administration had hand-picked two to receive support.
“Despite their bluster, the plans announced by the Labour-led Administration do not save or guarantee the long-term future of our facilities. Many groups are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of taking over halls, and the reality is many will permanently close”.
Residents had been asked to take part in a consultation process, but the SNP group say that their responses have been ignored;
“When 84% agree or strongly agreed that libraries are important to them, and 7 are now facing closure – residents are rightly asking us what was the point of filling it in.
“The ‘future libraries’ fund is just smoke and mirrors – a few shelves of books in the corner of a hall, not linked into the library network, is not an adequate library service.
“SNP Councillors will continue to engage with our communities, and assist various groups through the Community Asset Transfer process to help secure the future of our much-loved facilities.”
Cllr Cal Johnston-Dempsey 