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FREE – Summer reading challenge 2023 has started in Church Stretton Library – for ages 0-12 years. 

Help the ‘Ready, Set, Read’ team complete the obstacle course, collecting all 6 golden books to cross the finish line!  With crafts and a treasure hunt to do in the library and many different types of books to bury your head into…. Come and sign up!  

It only takes 6 books over the summer to complete the whole challenge and you can complete it as many times as you like or just sign up and read what you can.  We look forward to seeing you at Church Stretton Library!

This years theme – Games & Sport

This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is all about games and sports.  Children will join a fictional team (and their animal mascots!) as they use their skills to weave their way through a summer obstacle course.  Developed in collaboration with the Youth Sport Trust, the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge will celebrate play and participation, encouraging children to engage in games and sports in any way that best suits them. 

Ready, Set, Read! will showcase how reading can be active and engaged, and can itself involve teamwork and community.  On registration, children will receive a free starter pack and, if successful in achieving their reading target, will be awarded with a medal, certificate, other goodies….and a FREE SWIM at Church Stretton Leisure Centre.

Please come to our AGM to hear about future plans for Church Stretton Library .

Speakers include Peter Banford, newly appointed Culture and Communities Manager for Shropshire Council and Rawden Parslow, Shropshire Library Services Area Manager.

Following the  meeting there will be the opportunity for discussion and sharing of ideas with  wine, soft drinks and nibble

Our Annual & Financial Reports for 2022-23 are now on our website.

The agenda for the meeting is now on our website

ALL WELCOMEl

Monday 17 April and Wednesday 19 April from 2.30pm to 4pm.

Glass technician and artist Andy Bennett will be giving a talk and demonstration of glass staining on two afternoons in April.

Andy creates handmade stained glass artwork to sell and runs workshops for people wanting to learn how to make their own stained glass artefacts. His presentation will cover a brief history of glass manufacture, the tools that are used and some of the techniques he employs.

Advance booking is essential as places (£7.50) will be limited so those attending will have a good view and the opportunity to participate in Andy’s demonstrations.

To reserve a place please email Churchstrettonlibrary@outlook.com or call Ben Warren (Friends of Church Stretton Library Trustee) on 0777 943 7871

A talk by Janet Longstaff

in the library, March 22^nd 2.30

Janet will explore the country through 14 of its authors of both fiction (especially crime) and non-fiction, including history. Writing in Turkey can be a dangerous activity: two of the books discussed were smuggled out of prison where their authors were political prisoners. Two writers were killed in the street for their views

Exhibition in the Library 28th Feb for 3 weeks

Opening Event – 28th February, 6.30pm

Town Mayor, Andy Munro and representatives from nature groups of the Strettons will be attending.

Our Day Flying Spitfires

Speakers:  Dave Lyons & Malcolm Phillips

with film footage from the cockpit

Monday 20^th February 7.30pm  at The URC Hall

Dave and Malcolm will recount their unforgettable ‘fighter appreciation experience’ from May last year when they flew Spitfires over the south coast in simulated combat in pursuit of a fighter plane. Captured live on 360° cameras – you can share in this thrilling adventure, which turned out to be considerably more dramatic and eventful than had been originally envisaged.

Admission: £5.00 on the door

in support of Friends of Church Stretton Library

Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM where we discussed the new draft library strategy and plans for improving the library.  All your suggestions relating to these have been included in the AGM minutes.

The new library strategy

The draft Library Strategy 2022-2027 describes Shropshire Library Service plans for libraries across Shropshire over the next five years

We are pleased the draft strategy has abandoned the previous inequitable tier system where communities in market towns such as Church Stretton were expected to subsidise their library if it were to remain open.

The new library strategy seeks to retain all libraries across Shropshire and develop additional services within them to support the local community.

Finances could become an issue

However, Shropshire Council’s finances are insecure following years of reductions in central government support which have drained the local authority’s reserves. This means some libraries could become at risk of closure. 

We believe that the best way to help secure Church Stretton Library’s long-term future is to meet the new overall strategic priorities of the Shropshire Library Service.  We can do this by:

• Raising footfall – encouraging more people to use Church Stretton Library
• Developing additional services within our library

Please respond to this consultation

We would encourage all residents to respond to this consultation, which includes questions about:

1. Any activities or services you would like to see offered at your local library
2. Your suggestions for improvements to new technology within the library
3. How Church Stretton library makes a difference to you.

You can respond to the consultation here.   

The consultation runs until the 3^rd August 2022.

NB We have included people’s suggestions made at the AGM in our response to the consultation –  Friends response to Library Strategy consultation.  

Shropshire Council are running a consultation asking people their views on savings they propose to introduce in the next financial year.

Shropshire Council propose to plug the gap in funding they face by

• Increasing council tax by 3.99% (maximum allowed) to raise approx. £6.9 million pounds
• Make savings of approx. £10.5 million
• Take £13 million pounds from their financial reserves.

The proposed savings include £244,430 in library provision. We do not at this point of time know how these proposed savings will affect the library in Church Stretton but will keep you informed as we find out more.

Other savings mentioned in the consultation include

• Various savings in provision of Adult Social Care 
• Review of parking charges (£350,000)
• Transport review (£130,000)
• Review of leisure centres, including income generation (£50,000)

We would urge you to respond to this consultation and let Shropshire Council hear your thoughts on this.

If you do not feel you have sufficient background information to answer some of the questions in the consultation you are able to skip them and move to the next one, but we would still encourage you to highlight any concerns you might have in the text box below each Directorate’s questions.

The consultation can be accessed at  Budget consultation 2022/2023 | Shropshire Council.

Concern about subsequent years funding

Shropshire Council spends approx £554 million every year delivering services across Shropshire. They receive income for this from central government via the Revenue Support Grant as well as from local council tax and business rates.

Over the last few years, the Revenue Support Grant has been reduced at the same time as costs, especially in adult social care and children’s services, have increased.

This year there is a £66 million funding gap between the amount of money that Shropshire Council will receive in 2022/23 and what they require to provide services.

Thankfully they are receiving £36 million in one off grants from central government which will help them meet some of this year’s funding shortfall.

What is of greatest concern is how will Shropshire Council meet this shortfall in the following financial year 2023/24. There is no guarantee they will receive more one off grants from the government for subsequent years and by then they will have fully depleted their revenue reserves.   

We would urge you to respond to this consultation and let Shropshire Council hear your thoughts on this.

The consultation can be accessed at  Budget consultation 2022/2023 | Shropshire Council.

We are delighted that the Town Council have demonstrated their commitment to supporting the library, by moving half the funds from the ‘Service at Risk fund’ into a ‘Library Reserve’ fund. The remaining half was put in a reserve to support the Leisure Centre/Swimming Pool if called upon. The motion to do this was carried unanimously by town councillors at their meeting on Tuesday 11^th August.

This funding will help cover some of the library’s operational costs over the next few years. Friends of Church Stretton Library will also have to fundraise if we are to find the amount of money Shropshire Council is asking for. Payments to Shropshire Council will commence for the next financial year 2021/2022 and the amount required is expected to increase in the years following.

Consultation from 30^th September – November 8^th 2019

Shropshire Council are running a consultation to help them develop a new library strategy. We would encourage people to respond to this survey, so Shropshire Council continue to hear how much the library service in Church Stretton is valued.

You can find the survey at https://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/library-strategy-engagement-and-consultation/

Why a New Strategy?

We are not surprised Shropshire Council is developing a new strategy so soon after the previous one, approved in Jan 2018. In this earlier strategy, tier 2 libraries such as Church Stretton were meant to be:

• Hosted and managed by local community organisations within contract arrangements with Shropshire Council
• Receive a maximum of five year time limited tapered revenue support from Shropshire Council and be totally funded by the local community by the end of 2022/23

In Jan 2018 a procurement exercise was carried out where Shropshire Council invited local community organisations to bid to run the library in Church Stretton. None of the bids put forward were found to be viable.

In January 2019, Shropshire Library services proposed a different approach where they continued to manage the library in Church Stretton, with financial support from both the Town Council and Friends of Church Stretton Library. We welcomed this approach believing it to be a much more practical and viable approach to outsourcing. 

Funding Issues

Church Stretton Library Support Group and the Town Council both challenged the unfairness of the 2018 strategy in which libraries in the largest (Tier 1) towns would continue to be funded from the county council tax.  Smaller towns such as Church Stretton would be expected to pay for their Tier 2 Libraries from an additional local council tax, and would face potential reductions in staffing and opening hours. In addition, these smaller towns also faced the prospect of having to take on the funding of leisure services, youth services, street lighting and other services. There would also be no contribution from the many surrounding parishes, whose residents also use Tier 2 libraries. 

We will be making our own more detailed response to Shropshire Council, and making the strongest representation that the new Library Strategy will address these issues in a way which is much fairer for towns such as Church Stretton.

Your response will help

We would encourage individuals to respond to this survey, before the dead-line of November 8^th so that Shropshire Council understand how local residents value not only the current opening hours but also the range of services provided by the library

The survey can be found online at:

https://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/library-strategy-engagement-and-consultation/

Table of Tier 1, 2 and 3 libraries

Tier 1 Libraries: Shrewsbury, Lantern, Oswestry, Market Drayton, Whitchurch, Ludlow, Bridgnorth

Tier 2 Libraries: Cleobury Mortimer, Church Stretton, Bishop’s Castle, Ellesmere, Wem, Pontesbury and Albrighton

Tier 3 Libraries : Brosely, Shifnal, Highley, Craven Arms, Much Wenlock, Gobowen, Bayston Hill

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