Birmingham City Council has confirmed a major cut to library opening hours, with Sutton Coldfield’s main site set to close. Critics say it’s a step towards managed decline.
00:00The council's decision to cut nearly a third of statuary library hours comes at a time when Birmingham is already battling financial crisis and public distrust.
00:13Eight community libraries will now operate on an alternating Saturday rota, four open one weekend, four the next.
00:20And from the end of this month Sutton Caulfields Town Centre Library will shut its doors completely due to the condition of the building.
00:28It's all part of a wider restructure being sold as transformation but critics say it's a spin and the reality is a hollowing out of essential services that once formed the backbone of local neighbourhoods.
00:41Under the council's new connected communities model libraries will merge with neighbourhood advice centres to form ten permanent hubs across the city.
00:51The council insists this is about efficiency, offering support closer to home while keeping services afloat.
00:59But for many residents this doesn't feel like innovation, it feels like retreat, especially for those now relying on mobile vans or online portals instead of physical spaces where people gather, learn and connect.
01:12The backlash has been sharp, campaigners calling the council's language disingenuous, councillors accusing them of managed decline.
01:21And while officials talk about digital access and doorstop support, the irony is libraries were already doing all of that without the need for a rebrand.
01:31In the eyes of many, it's another case of community assets being cut, rebranded and presented as progress.
01:37But no amount of double speak can disguise the fact that once they're gone, they're rarely brought back.
