Campaigners are preparing for legal action to prevent the permanent closure of a library in Glasgow.

Whiteinch Community Council which has backed the Save Whiteinch Library campaign has told the council Chief Executive Annemarie O’Donnell it is prepared to take the matter to the Court of Session seeking a Judicial Review.

The campaigners argue that the council has failed on a number of points including not consulting the local community and has raised concerns over equality issues.

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Govan Law Centre has notified the council of the concerns and the plan for legal action unless the decision not to re-open Whiteinch Library is reconsidered or the council shoes it carried out equality impact assessments.

The letter states: “Glasgow City Council has operated a decision making process with respect to the closure of Whiteinch Library which has excluded our client, all service users and the local people in the communities in which the library serves.

“As such Glasgow City Council’s decision making process appears to be fundamentally flawed in law.”

Glasgow Times:

The council however said that the decision making process the letter refers to does not exist.

Instead it said that no decision to close any venues had been taken but that it decided all venues should be re-opened when guidelines and funding allow.

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The letter states that it appears neither Glasgow City Council or Glasgow Life carried out an Equality Impact Assessment “in advance of your decision to close Whiteinch Library”.

The campaigners argue that closure would have a significant detrimental impact on service users including children and young people, the visually impaired and people with dementia.

They argue the council has failed in its public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010.

It is also argued that the council has not discharged its Fairer Scotland Duty under the same act.

It states: A high proportion of Whiteinch Library’s catchment area includes people who are living in Scotland’s worst quintile of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation areas.

There are two principal area of socio economic deprivation: Dumbarton Road South corridor and the Broomhill estate.

Thirdly, they argue the library is the last civic building local people can use and closure would “break the last link to the old historic Whiteinch” and closure is of “profound significance to local communities”.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The letter sets out an decision-making process that simply doesn’t exist.

“Rather than having taken a decision to close the library, Council agreed a motion last month that all venues should be reopened as and when government guidance and funding allow.”