Councillor urges rethink for controversial library move

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A councillor is calling for a rethink of controversial plans to move a library out of a seaside town’s centre, as residents are urged to back a new petition opposing the relocation.

Llandudno councillor Harry Saville is urging Conwy County Council to rethink plans to move the town’s library on Mostyn Street to Venue Cymru.

He is also urging residents to sign a new petition opposing the move, despite the failure of a 1,800-signature petition to halt the council’s plans.

As it stands, the library will switch to Venue Cymru in the spring of 2027, after the UK Government committed £20 million to upgrade the theatre and concert venue.

The council previously said the funding “wasn’t reliant upon the library moving”. Nevertheless the authority believed the business plan “was much stronger with the library included”.

The council says the new library at Venue Cymru will “deliver integrated cultural services and provide a fully accessible library, developed with modern users in mind”.

A prior public consultation however showed that; 764 (76%) of 1,001 residents felt that moving the library would make it harder to access.

The same survey showed 746 residents would use the library less if the move went ahead and 633 of those asked said their spend on the high street would decrease.

Despite these findings, the council cabinet pressed ahead with the move last year.

Damage accessibility 

Cllr Harry Saville insisted the relocation could damage the town’s high street and accessibility and leave an empty building on the main shopping street.

He said: “The (previous) petition has already shown that there is still a lot of appetite amongst local residents for Conwy County Borough Council to rethink their plan to close Llandudno’s town centre library and deliver library services from Venue Cymru instead.

“There are a number of questions that remain unanswered from last year when the council made the decision to close the library from spring next year.

“Why were the public told that moving library services to Venue Cymru would make them more accessible, when the council’s own equality impact assessment suggests they’ll be harder to access for people with mobility challenges and people using public transport?

“Why were the public told that there’d almost certainly be a new use found for the current library building on Mostyn Street, yet a year later nothing has been announced?

“There clearly should be a rethink, and there’s no reason that the decision can’t be looked at again.

“It was only a couple of years ago when councillors forced a rethink of a decision to close and sell off public toilets across the borough. And residents recently put a stop to plans to build flats on Maelgwyn Road Car Park, next to Gloddaeth Avenue.”

He added: “So I’d ask everyone who wants our library to remain in the town centre to sign the petition.”

Public consultation questioned 

Bangor Conwy Môn MS Janet Finch-Saunders questioned the point of the public consultation.

She said: “Too often the council goes directly against the wishes of those who have answered the consultation process, but the answer hasn’t been what they wanted. It makes a mockery and a farce to call it a consultation process, and then to go directly against the wishes of the very council taxpayers who pay their wages.”

The council believes moving to Venue Cymru will enable longer opening hours. The ground floor location of the new library will improve access for people with disabilities, limited mobility, or parents, guardians with prams.

Venue Cymru also has an on-site car park and a bus stop right by the car park. The council believes, as a result, that the new location would be more convenient for even more residents to reach the site. The move into a co-located building will save money for council taxpayers, including rent, the council has said.

The petition can be found here. The designs for the new space at Venue Cymru can be viewed here. 

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