'Ignored' - gallery Friends' message to council (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

'Ignored' - gallery Friends' message to council

7:50am Friday 8th February 2013 in News By William Tomaney

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to prevent the “significant downgrading” of Kidderminster Library’s gallery have left a “powerful” message for councillors who have announced a moving date for the facility.

Builders will move into the library on Monday, February 18, to prepare its first floor for the new gallery and meeting rooms.

They will then be moved in March from their current locations on the top floor, paving the way for Worcestershire County Council offices.

Kidderminster Gallery Friends members arranged 408 comment cards collected by the group during a two-hour engagement event last October to spell out “Ignored” on one of the gallery’s walls.

Friends secretary Stephen Brown said: “The image is both iconic and ironic in equal measure.

The council don’t care about the views of the public. They claimed in the planning committee this is a library-led initiative – well, if it was they would listen to library users and not just their own property services team when trying to make savings.”

The gallery is currently hosting a Kidderminster Camera Club exhibition – the final event to be held at the top-floor facility.

Meanwhile, Kidderminsterbased charity Kemp Hospice said next Thursday, February 14, will be its last coffee morning until June. The hospice runs the fundraising event every Thursday from 9.30am until 12.30pm in the gallery.

Mr Brown, added his group was confident the gallery “could still be saved” and would be submitting a maladministration complaint to the local Government ombudsman.

A county council spokesman said he believed the council had already dealt with the complaint.

The Friends’ move follows the withdrawal of a judicial review application by disabled gallery user Louise Ryan, which the Friends had backed