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Lambeth council has dismissed as "scaremongering" reports that four libraries are threatened with closure, with two others at risk of downgrading, because of the borough's financial woes.
Opposition councillor Ashley Lumsden, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said that plans to close the libraries in Kennington and Herne Hill were "hidden among 500 pages of appendices" to a Property Performance Report uploaded on the council's website. Lumsden called the plan "a fire-sale of valuable commmunity assets."
The Property Performance Report stated that Lambeth has a £35m backlog of building repairs. Comments on individual libraries included that Carnegie Library in Herne Hill "would be ideal for sale for a private residential flat conversion", and that Minet Library, North Brixton, "could be closed."
However a spokesperson for Labour-controlled Lambeth council said: "It is categorically untrue that we plan to close any libraries without replacing them," calling the claims "a bit of scaremongering" using "selective quotes".
The spokesperson added: "This was an asset management report written by our finance department. Yes, it's important that we look at the condition of our buildings. Anyone who visits our libraries will know some of the buildings are old and need replacement.
"But we want to improve our libraries, not take them away."