This week witnessed the passing of a controversial motion by the Cambridge County Council concerning the future privatisation of the Cambridge Central Library. The CCL, which can be found in the Lion’s Yard Shopping Centre opposite Christ’s College, will be the home of a new £600,000 ‘enterprise centre’.

The decision to partner up with the company Kora in order to refurbish the CCL’s third floor was taken by county councillors on Tuesday, and will involve a complete renovation of the library’s three floors. Frequenters of the Central Library will be faced with closed doors for roughly three weeks and will have their access to the third floor restricted for two months. 

Kora and the council plan to spend £300,000 each on the project, with additional funding coming from an annual service charge paid by Kora to the city of Cambridge.

The project, implemented by the council’s highways and community infrastructure committee, is the first example of a council partnering with a private company in order to create an enterprise centre. Those behind the proposal pledge to “provide cutting-edge business and learning services.”

News of the potential privatisation quickly spread after its announcement on Tuesday, and sparked various forms of opposition from Cambridge residents. A petition entitled “Don’t privatise the third floor of Cambridge Central Library” was set up on 38degrees.co.uk, and has received 1362 signatures at time of publication. The creators of the petition commented on the allegedly unethical history of Kora, which is part of the Regus Group:

“We request that Cambridgeshire County Council rethink its proposal to partner with a multinational group with a history of unethical business practices to privatise the third floor of Cambridge Central Library, robbing the community of valued public space which is accessible to all.”

Such sentiments were echoed by the Cambridgeshire Country Branch of UNISON, who expressed their concern that councillors were placing "the reputational risk with Kora before the public good".

UNISON highlighted the 2008 decision by the Regus Group to relocate to Luxembourg, allegedly in an attempt to avoid paying taxes in the United Kingdom. Moreover, in 2010, the group was accused of profiteering having supposedly threatened of landlords and mismanaged finances, leaving many landlords with costly empty buildings despite the Regus Group’s £200 million cash-flow.

UNISON Cambridgeshire Branch Secretary Rob Turner claimed that “Any Cambridge resident who would like to attend the committee meeting, will find that when it comes to this item, they will be asked to leave […] It’s essentially wrong that when a discussion is held, which will impact on thousands of Cambridgeshire library goers, a decision is made that it is not in our interest to hear what our elected members are saying”. 

Such online protests were accompanied by a demonstration in front of the CCL today by various Cambridge residents. Amanda Taylor, county councillor for Queen Edith’s Ward and one of the protestors present, gave Varsity the following statement:

“We all know that the library service, like all areas of the County Council, need to make economies. But giving up a floor of the library to a private company is a very big change that will impact on the whole of the library's provision. This is Cambridge's premier public library, and we believe the public should have a say in this.”

The Cambridge Lib Dems also voiced their concern with regard to potential privatisation. In a press release the Cambridge Liberal Democrats, with support from Cambridge MP Julian Huppert, “called for comprehensive information on the plans”, adding that “The project has won the support of Tory and UKIP County Councillors but Lib Dem members of the committee moved an amendment not to agree the proposals until full information was forthcoming. They were outvoted, however, by the other parties.”

Furthermore, Barbara Ashwood, representing Trumpington, stated that she wants "to see consultation with Cambridge library members as well as a presentation by Kora before we make a decision on turning over part of a public library to a private firm."

Concerns over the project were also voiced by Julian Huppert MP, who commented: "While I am completely committed to doing everything we can to support people looking for work and make it easier for them to do so, I am concerned that this project has not been properly thought through.”

The decision is now scheduled to be reconsidered at a meeting of senior councillors on 14th April. That meeting will be open to the public and people may speak at it, provided that they inform the Council three working days before.

Correction 21/03/2015: The motion concerning the future privatisation of the Cambridge Central Library was passed by the Cambridge County Council, not the Cambridge City Council as previously written.