Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford, on behalf of hundreds of his constituents, presented a petition to the floor of the House of Commons, calling on Havering Council to prevent the closure of the Gidea Park Library.
This comes following a campaign led by Andrew with the support of the Conservative team in Havering Council in the Summer of last year, opposing this decision.
Writing on social media, Andrew had the following to say:
As a last ditch attempt to save our cherished local library in Gidea Park, this week I presented a petition of over 1,000 signatures in the chamber of the @HouseofCommons calling on Havering Council to reverse their damaging decision to shut down our library and hoping the government will intervene to provide support for Havering to keep our library services open for local people to use and enjoy, as a hub the whole community. In 2001, I fought and won the campaign to save Gidea Park Library after the then Labour Council attempted to close it down, so I hope that the Havering Residents Association administration, which originally took power in our Town Hall three years ago in a coalition with Labour, will think again for the sake of all the people of Gidea Park and Romford.
The Hansard entry for the Petition was as follows:
I present a petition on behalf of my constituents, who are devastated by the decision of the local council, the London borough of Havering, to close the Gidea Park library based in the Squirrels Heath ward, which serves a large part of Romford and is used by local children, students and older people. It is a community hub and a cherished local facility, which I campaigned to save in 2001, the year I became a Member of Parliament. Sadly, it is now under threat of closure again by the local council, as proposed by the Labour and Havering Residents Association administration that was in office last year, and opposed by the Conservatives.
Local people and Councillors Christine Vickery, Keith Prince and Michael White, led by me, have collected hundreds if not thousands of signatures across the area, to try to persuade Havering council to change its decision and keep our cherished local library open for local people to use and enjoy.
The petition, on behalf of the people of Gidea Park, the wider community of Romford and the London Borough of Havering, in the historic county of Essex, states:
The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Notes that the Gidea Park library provides essential services to local communities; declares that their closure would have an adverse impact upon the local people, specifically the young and elderly; further declares that this library ought not to be closed by the London Borough of Havering; and further declares that community libraries should be protected and enhanced as vital centres of culture, learning, and local service provision by national and local government.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ensure that the Gidea Park library in the parliamentary constituency of Romford is not closed, but rather protected and enhanced as a centre of culture, learning, and local service provision for the people of Gidea Park.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford
