Plans to shut Dewsbury's council customer services centre get green light while plans to hand Mirfield Library to community move forward

The council says its plans will make the services more easily accessible for people as they will instead be located at some of the borough’s libraries.

But some residents are not convinced, with fears that vulnerable people who rely on the services for support might ‘slip through the net’.

Customer services will now be based at libraries in Heckmondwike, Dewsbury, Batley, Cleckheaton, Birstall and Ravensthorpe, as well as Almondbury, Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Kirkburton.

Also approved were the next steps for making Mirfield library and seven others – in Honley, Meltham, Marsden, Kirkheaton, Skelmanthorpe, Denby Dale and Shepley – community-managed.

The council says it will now explore the feasibility of moving to the new model and engagement with voluntary groups, the community and staff.

The plans would see around 47 jobs lost and a saving of £1.86m made – £950k from the Customer Service Centre move in 2024/25, and £912k from the community-managed libraries approach in 2025/26.

The libraries proposed to be community-managed have been chosen due to factors such as community capacity, strong library friends of groups and other volunteers, and the presence of community infrastructures like town or parish councils.

Coun Adam Gregg (Con, Lindley) sought assurance that the eight libraries set to be community-managed won’t be closed if the engagement finds that the plan is unfeasible.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for Corporate, Coun Paul Davies said: “In terms of assurances, I’m certain that every member of the cabinet and the leader would be very happy to give assurances about the future of all services and assets within the council.

“Unfortunately, there’s not one of us who could sit here and give assurances about any of that while we continue to see a situation where we are chronically underfunded, where we don’t have long-term funding settlements provided.

“Not only would it be extremely difficult to give assurances around that, around this particular element – the libraries – it’s difficult to say that in terms of all of our services.

“Now, of course, we’re not sitting here and closing down services, we’re not going to sit back idly and let that happen but I’m making the point that this is a partnership and the partnership is between us and the community, but also between us and the government, and the government are simply not playing their part in this partnership.

“And so, assurances, we want from the government in terms of adequate funding, fair funding going forward so we can do the best for our citizens.”

Speaking of the transition to a community-managed model, Coun Davies continued: “We will work hard to support any community group going forward.

"There Is a very, very strong theme within this administration of fighting hard to keep our libraries. We see our libraries as an essential part of our communities and we will continue to do this, so I can assure all citizens that will be the case.

“This is an opportunity to keep our estate going in very difficult financial times, the challenges we’re facing, but certainly assurances are not easy to come by in the current situation and the current financial funding model that we have.”