£3m plan to add services to the library
Council leaders have been accused of a “shameless attempt” to avoid public objections to their £3million plans to integrate other services into Bath Library.
Liberal Democrats said the Conservative administration was “sidestepping” planning processes and not giving residents the opportunity to comment on the proposals.
But Councillor Karen Warrington said opposition members were being “deliberately misleading” and “fabricating an issue that simply doesn’t exist”.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has submitted a so-called certificate of lawfulness to bring the One Stop Shop into the Podium, arguing the proposals do not constitute a change of use.
Councillor Richard Samuel, the Lib Dem spokesperson for community services, said: “The Conservatives appear willing to use any means necessary to avoid public scrutiny, including bypassing the normal planning process. This is a shameless attempt to avoid having to face objectors in a public meeting.
“Members of the public will not even have the right to comment on the application.
“Clearly, they are determined to push this library decision through as quickly as possible, and appear to have paid for private planning advice to tell them how to avoid making an application.
“We believe the administration should apply for full planning permission, as they did with the merger of Midsomer Norton Library and One Stop Shop last year.”
Lib Dem group leader Dine Romero said the “real scandal” is Conservative cuts that are “destroying councils and the services local people rely on”.
The certificate of lawfulness application says the way libraries are used is changing, and Bath’s is no different. It says Government backs integration of council services and libraries should be one of the “natural first choices”.
But the application says the primary function of the premises will still be as a library so the use will not change and a full planning application is not necessary.
Ms Warrington, the cabinet member for transformation and customer services, said last month the project was on track to go out to tender this month and should be completed by next summer.
She said this week: “Once again, we have an example of the Liberal Democrats putting out deliberately misleading information to fabricate an issue that simply doesn’t exist. The truth is that the engagement for Bath library is one of the largest undertaken by B&NES Council, there have been three rounds of engagement over the designs of the library, with residents having input at every stage of the process.
“So in response to councillor Samuel’s charge of there being a lack of scrutiny, it couldn’t be further from the truth.”