DECISION DAY FOR LIBRARIES - 15th Jan 2009 12:52am
THE future of fourteen Wirral libraries, three of our leisure centres, two museums and a theatre will be decided upon this week.
Twenty village halls and community centres throughout the borough will also learn their fate in what promises to be a stormy meeting of Wirral Council's ruling 'cabinet' committee this Thursday evening.
Just ten councillors - five Labour and five Liberal Democrat - will cast their vote on proposals which, if agreed, will see all of those facilities close from as early as March.
Petitions against the controversial restructuring plan - proposed after a £100,000 review of the council's assets by an outside contractor - have gathered more than 22,000 signatures of support.
And over 2,500 people attended four Wirral-wide forums chaired by council leader Steve Foulkes to voice their objections.
The council wants to replace the facilities by investing £20m in "fewer but better" buildings. But the scheme has been condemned as "the wholesale slaughter" of public services by Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford.
Earlier this week there was a suggestion that Guinea Gap and Woodchurch leisure centres may win a two-year stay of execution, and that some of the libraries facing the axe could be transferred into "community control".
The committee meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 6.15pm on Thursday at Wallasey Town Hall.
Twenty village halls and community centres throughout the borough will also learn their fate in what promises to be a stormy meeting of Wirral Council's ruling 'cabinet' committee this Thursday evening.
Just ten councillors - five Labour and five Liberal Democrat - will cast their vote on proposals which, if agreed, will see all of those facilities close from as early as March.
Petitions against the controversial restructuring plan - proposed after a £100,000 review of the council's assets by an outside contractor - have gathered more than 22,000 signatures of support.
And over 2,500 people attended four Wirral-wide forums chaired by council leader Steve Foulkes to voice their objections.
The council wants to replace the facilities by investing £20m in "fewer but better" buildings. But the scheme has been condemned as "the wholesale slaughter" of public services by Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford.
Earlier this week there was a suggestion that Guinea Gap and Woodchurch leisure centres may win a two-year stay of execution, and that some of the libraries facing the axe could be transferred into "community control".
The committee meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 6.15pm on Thursday at Wallasey Town Hall.