Selling Mill Road library in Cambridge to developers would be ‘failure of imagination’
Fundraisers who want to buy the former Mill Road library and make it a cultural hub and cinema say if county councillors don’t choose them it would be “a failure of imagination”.
The campaigners have raised more than £450,000 in pledges from local people who want to see the library kept for the community and turned into an arts centre when it is sold later this year.
And they have the promise of up to a £1 million loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund to save the Grade II listed building on Mill Road in Cambridge.
A new petition to save the former library for the community and backing the campaign to make it a cultural hub has so far gained 300 signatures.
Cambridgeshire County Council has put the former library up for sale with a guide price of £700,000 and has invited bids from community organisations as well as developers. A preferred bidder will be chosen at the assets and procurement committee meeting on October 15.
Matt Webb, who is leading the campaign said: “It would be a failure of imagination and responsibility if they didn't choose something like this that benefits the entire area.
“We have had hundreds of people get in touch to offer help, expertise and to pledge money because they are so keen to see this project happen. It is very rare for a building like this, of such cultural and community importance, to become available and it would be a terrible loss if it doesn’t stay within community hands, but instead is sold off to private developers.
“It all depends now on what the county council wants to see happen. It was my job to get us to the point where the county could press go on the project. It's down to the county whether they want a project that is for the people of Mill Road or whether they would rather have something else, and it will be only for them to decide.”
The campaigners have calculated that their proposed cultural hub and cinema would be within walking distance of around 16,000 people. The group wants to create a vibrant cultural centre, screen diverse films and make it a place for learning in the arts. Although the sale price is £700,000, campaigners believe work to reinstall amenities such as electricity supply, dry out the damp and refurbish it would take the total cost to £2million. If they are named as the preferred bidder, the group would then become eligible to apply for grants to restore the building.
Matt Webb said: “Although the council has done some restoration work on the building, it was only partial. There is no heating, which means the building is suffering from damp and there is only one exit, which means we would have to create another fire exit for the building to be safe.”
Meanwhile the petition to keep the library for community use says: “The only organisation that has engaged with the community has been the Community Bid team (now incorporated as Mill Road Library CIC), which has involved more than 1000 people. Their ideas have been represented in the Arts Bid proposal (https://millroadlibrary.com) which has over 700 letters of support, and involves re-opening the building to all for public benefit - in partnership with local community groups wanting to establish a cultural hub that serves all.”
The petition can be found at https://chng.it/NpbNNrsWPS.
The historic listed building has been put up for sale by the county council but Cambridge City Council declared it an asset of community value (ACV), which meant that the county council could not sell it to commercial bidders for six months. This was to give community interest groups time to raise funds to buy the building. The deadline for bids was August 12. The bids will be assessed and considered by councillors on the assets and procurement committee on October 15.
The county council has previously said that while the building has been declared an asset of community value this “will not determine who can buy the building or the price”.
