Spring Hill Library Campaign Hots Up

Spring Hill Library was listed for closure in Ladywood District’s cuts program. The iconic Victorian Gothic a Free Library had recently been refurbished at a cost of £250000 to Tesco as a condition of the development of the new store alongside.

A meeting of 15 outraged residents and users met on January 31st and vowed to fight the closure. A week later a further meeting attracted 30 people. They pointed out that Spring Hill is a thriving library with increasing footfall. On the border of Ladywood and Soho wards, it provides vital library, information, and computer services to two of the most deprived wards in the whole UK. The convenience of combining a visit to the library with a shopping trip means the library is finding many more remote users too.
The secretary to Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood attended the meeting and advised that the campaign discuss alternative ways of finding the cuts with the district officers, but many people are opposed to a tit for tat approach and just want the decision reversed.
On Saturday February 9th a petitioning session was held outside the library and in Tesco. Hundreds of signatures were obtained and this will be repeated next Saturday. The local support is overwhelming and this is fight that can and must be won.

Local Areas Organising To Resist The Bedroom Tax

There will be a number of meetings in the next couple of weeks in local areas around Birmingham that are heavily affected by the Bedroom Tax, as local residents start to organise themselves to resist the charge and any evictions that may come from it.
Meetings will take place in Ladywood, Stockland Green and Highgate:

Ladywood
7pm
Wednesday 15th May
Ladywood Community Centre, Vincent St West

Stockland Green
7pm
Wednesday 22nd May
St Barnabas Church Centre, Erdington High Street
Speakers: Dave Nellist and a Communities Against The Cuts campaigner

Highgate
7pm
Thursday 23rd May
Stanhope Community Centre , Emily Street Highgate

There will also be a lobby of Albert Bore’s surgery at the council house on Friday 17th May from 6:30pm and a protest outside. See here for more information.