In brief:

• Lambeth have signed a contract for £1.25 million to excavate the basement for a gym: Forcia contract.

  This is only the first stage of the work, the next depends on financing from GLL, which has not yet been agreed. The total cost is estimated at £3 million. The first stage is estimated to take 7 months.

  Lambeth have stated that no rent will be paid by the gym to support the library until 2023: letter from Lambeth, 31st March 2017.

• Lambeth propose to transfer the Carnegie to the 'Carnegie Community Trust' (CCT), a small group of self-appointed individuals without widespread community support. The CCT also has plans for major redevelopment work, of up to £5 million (but how this will be paid for is unknown): asset transfer assessment.
  

  Lambeth rejected the bid for the asset transfer by the Carnegie Library Association (CLA), formed by the Friends of Carnegie Library and the library user groups, with elected trustees, and which is accountable to over 300 members.

  Lambeth confirm in the asset transfer document that the Carnegie will become a "neighbourhood library service, ... staffed for approximately two hours per day ... consist of self-service facilities providing residents with access to a limited supply of books available for lending and drop off."

We are circulating more detail on all of this in our current bulletin.

There is a public meeting with DefendThe10 at St Saviour's church, Herne Hill Road,
6.30 for 7pm, Thurs August 17, in advance of the start of work on 1st September,
to give residents adequate time to discuss and agree on
what concerns them and
what THEY want.

Minutes from the most recent community liaison group meeting with Lambeth are
here

The Friends of Carnegie Library will fight on. We will be intensifying the campaign to get the library back for local people, including for the community groups who used it before Lambeth closed the library in March last year. If you aren’t already a member, please join us via the website or by post.

The planning decision for the Carnegie redevelopment has now been published (3 months after the planning meeting).
The notice is here. There is confusion over the space allocated to the library, which is not defined in the plans. We are arguing for the central space to be retained for library use.

Local residents have formed a group to monitor the development and raise any problems it causes with the council. The group can be contacted via the Friends at foclchair@gmail.com.

Carnegie Library Association has endorsed the detailed objections made by Friends of Carnegie Library and Herne Hill Society to the proposals and added a few more.

Additionally, in an attempt to be as constructive as possible, the Association's trustees have indicated requirements which, if satisfied, might render the presence of a gym tolerable. These are:
• The ground and first floors would not be affected by the gym or disturbance from it.
• There would not be any intrusion into the Reading and Wildlife Garden and there would be continued access to the garden for wheelchair users.
• The gym would make a worthwhile contribution to the running costs of the building and the Association would be compensated for loss of revenue from the basement.
• Membership of the gym would be restricted to local people and the opening hours limited to times acceptable to the neighbours.

Further details are in a copy of the Association's letter to Lambeth and its attachment, both of which are available here.