Bradford council: Final chapter reached for five libraries

AN array of public facilities is set to close in Bradford this year as the council cuts spending by £56m.

Five of the district’s 31 libraries – at Addingham, Denholme, Heaton, Wilsden and Wrose – are to close after a study found they were the district’s least-used buildings.

The council will also close an entire floor of the city’s main public library and ditch one of its two library delivery vans.

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Manningham Swimming Pool will also close and swimming provision will be “reviewed” at Greenhead and Rhodesway. The council is also pushing ahead with plans to close all 11 of its residential care homes over the coming years, building five new homes to replace them.

Those to close this year are Meadowcroft, Thackley Grange and Laurence House. One family centre, Albion, and one community hall, Holden Hall, have also been earmarked for closure.

Day care for people with learning difficulties has also been put under review with an eye to making major savings, and the disabled transport services budget cut by more than £800,000. Elderly residents who rely on meals on wheels will be hit hard as the council removes its entire subsidy for the service – meaning prices per meal soar from £3 to £5.88. But the council has resisted the temptation to raise its overall care threshold, and will continue to offer social care to those with “moderate” needs.

“We have tried to make sure the most vulnerable people we serve are protected,” council leader Ian Greenwood said as he announced the cuts, which will total £80m by 2013 and involve the loss of about 2,000 jobs. Highways maintenance spending will be reduced by £750,000, and parks and landscaping budgets cut by 20 per cent. Tourist information services will also be scaled back and the fly-tipping team cut altogether.

On-street parking meters will be installed in Shipley, Keighley, Ilkley and Bingley, and bus lanes enforced with CCTV across the city to generate income.

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