Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley has today backed the calls from Whitehill residents to save the local Library.
Whitehill Library has been earmarked for closure by South Lanarkshire Council and is due to shut on 2nd April this year.
Local library users have set up an online petition calling for council leader, Eddie McAvoy to keep the service open.
In a letter to the council, Angela said:
“In a town like ours, library services are so much more than a place where we borrow books, they play a key role in building relationships and proving a means of community engagement.
“Libraries provide resources and support, and in the age of the internet, allow local people to get online.
“Many residents in Whitehill use the library services as a way to engage with the wider community, to broaden their knowledge and gain valuable experience – it is a chance to meet friends and catch up with neighbours.
“This proposal will hit deprived families hardest, and Whitehill is a community that benefits from access to this vital community service.
“Recently I welcomed your decision to cancel the cuts to the School transport provision and the Coalyard tearooms.
“I hope you will once again consider a change of direction, this time on the closure Whitehill Library.”
The organiser of the campaign, Phil Sykes said:
“The decision to close Whitehill Library has been taken with no consultation with the affected community.
“This is an area that suffers from high levels of social deprivation and this decision directly impacts those with the most need for free access to books and the internet.
“No alternatives have been put in place, nor discussed with the community, other than to use Burnbank Library, for which there is no direct bus link six days a week.
“Parents with young children are now forced to undertake a 50-minute round trip to access books and library services along a very busy main road and through side roads which are grid-locked at rush hour, in all weathers and in the dark during winter.
“We call on South Lanarkshire Council to support our community, reverse this decision and keep Whitehill library open.”