Council 'forced' to review Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre amid £17m government funding cuts

A discussion over ‘future efficiencies to be considered’ is set to take place at a Central Bedfordshire Council meeting on January 6 – with the library theatre, children’s centres and youth centres all included in the review, along with Dunstable’s Grove Theatre.

Central Bedfordshire Council's executive member for finance and highways, Cllr John Baker, says the council’s hand has been forced by the funding cuts, which have wiped out ‘two years of progress’ made through ‘tough decisions’ to restore the council’s finances.

He told the Observer: “We were on course for an £8.5m surplus, money earmarked to improve services and reduce debt.

"That progress has been wiped out by the government's £17m Christmas cut to CBC's funding. As a result, the council will now be forced to review the Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre and Dunstable Grove Theatre and consider changes to children's centres and youth services.

"Government MPs need to remember who they represent. The people of Central Bedfordshire expect them to stand up for them, and publicly oppose these government cuts."

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have started a petition in support of Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre, and are calling on the government to reverse the ‘brutal’ cuts.

Leader of Central Bedfordshire Liberal Democrat Council Group, councillor Shaun Roberts, said: “Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre is a valuable community asset beloved by families and local community groups. The Labour Government’s brutal cuts to Central Bedfordshire’s budget mean that almost nothing is off the table, as the council tries to keep its head above water in the years to come.

“To receive the news of a £17m cut next year, days before Christmas, just shows the callous nature of this Labour Government and how little they care about local people.

But in a joint statement on social media, Steve Owen and Russ Goodchild, Independent councillors for Leighton-Linslade West ward, branded the Lib Dems’ response a ‘scare story' and said ‘no decision’ had been made following a series of informal budget meetings ‘through the autumn’.

They wrote: “There are no current plans to even change the services delivered at the library or theatre,” adding: “Those same Leighton Buzzard Lib Dem councillors have never yet voted on any annual CBC budget-making decision. They have abstained for two successive years. Yet the prime responsibility of any elected councillor is to participate in the annual council services funding decisions.”

They pledged to oppose any threat to the library and theatre or its major services.

Chris Leaman, Lib Dem councillor for Leighton Linslade South, hit back at the remarks, and called on them to ‘get behind’ the campaign.

He said: “Cllr Owen and Cllr Goodchild form part of the administration on Central Bedfordshire Council that have just published official council papers that call for a 'review of Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre' under an item entitled 'Future Efficiency Considerations'.

"Apart from Independent councillors, everybody in Leighton Buzzard knows what that is code for and what the implications are. It is in black and white.

"Now is not the time to sit back and be complacent, cross our fingers and hope everything will be ok, at a time when the Labour Government has cut £17m of funding from the council's budget next year with more to come. It's incumbent on all of us to get behind the Library Theatre and show Central Bedfordshire Council and the Labour Government just what this vital community asset means to our town."

The Central Bedfordshire executive meeting is set to take place at 6.30pm on January 6 at its Chicksands headquarters.