Alan Bennett Joins Campaign to Save Kensal Rise Library

·      Six Brent Libraries launch legal campaign against Brent Council

·      Alan Bennett to hold fundraising event on behalf of the campaign on May 24^th

 The highest profile individual campaign against library closures in the country continues today with the announcement by Friends of Kensal Rise Library that they and five other Brent libraries will be taking legal action against Brent Council to challenge them on the legitimacy of their consultation process.

This process preceded the Council’s decision to close six local libraries – Kensal Rise, Barham Park, Cricklewood, Neasden, Preston, and Tokyngton - on April 11 this year, while at the same time building a new ‘megalibrary’ as part of the new Brent Civic Centre (cost: £100m), due to open in 2013.  The closure of the six local libraries is expected to save the council £1m.

At the end of March a fundraiser was held with the author Zadie Smith to save Kensal Rise library. Philip Pullman has spoken out against the Brent closures.  Now, on May 24^th, one of Britain’s greatest writers, Alan Bennett, will come to Kensal Rise to help fundraise for the legal campaign against Brent.

Bennett will give a speech on the library closures as well as a reading from his works, signing his books and participating in a Q&A with the audience. He will be interviewed by local author Tim Lott, who has been part of the committee to Save Kensal Rise Library since its inception at the end of last year.

 Kensal Rise library was opened more than 100 years ago by the author Mark Twain, and has survived two world wars and any number of deep recessions and economic crises.

Tim Lott said, “We fully understand the need for cuts to be made. This is not a head in the sand campaign. However, local residents have campaigned to run Kensal Rise library on a partly voluntary and possibly self funded basis, but have met with only indifference and stonewalling from Brent who have offered no practical help, assistance or encouragement.”

The Brent libraries need to raise £30,000 between them to fund a legal challenge to Brent’s flawed local consultation procedure, which was heralded with a highly ‘loaded’ questionnaire for local residents and contained a number of procedural flaws.   In reality, 82 per cent* of local residents oppose Brent’s ‘rationalisation’ programme.

The campaign to save Kensal Rise Library has been at the spearhead of the campaign to save more than 600 libraries nationally that are under threat following the budget cuts announced by the coalition government.

The event will take place at 7.30pm on May 24^th at St Martin’s Church, Mortimer Road, Kensal Green, NW10.

Tickets will be £10 and are available from Queens Park Books, 87 Salusbury Road, NW6, Lutyens and Rubenstein bookshop, 21 Kensington Park Road W11, the Lexi Cinema, 194 Chamberlayne Rd, NW10 as well as some local outlets.  A limited number of tickets will be held back for sale on the night on a first come first served basis.