Cllr. Steve Sollitt
c/o Members Room
Civic Centre
Southampton
SO14 7LY

Dear Councillor Sollitt,

I am writing on my own behalf and that of my two colleagues in our television show to add our voices to those protesting against the possible closure of the Cobbett Road library. Although none of us are resident in Southampton all three of us feel strongly about the value in general of the public library system and, in particular,  I have a two-year-old grandson who does live in the area and who makes extensive use of Cobbett Road. From talking to his mother I know how much he gets out of the amenities and the atmosphere of the library; it is evident when you spend time with him that he’s extremely interested in books and has clearly derived much stimulation from the resources available to him there. It is a whole world which has opened up to him, and however much care is taken with him at home (and it is), the communality of learning which is in the air at a good public library is absolutely irreplaceable. It’s no good saying “he’ll get all that when he starts school”: if that sort of stimulus isn’t available to a toddler it’s lost forever. The chance has gone.

We know that central government always leaves councils underfunded and presumably always will, but the provision of good, easily accessible libraries is one of the most valuable things a local authority does and when times are tight they should be the last things to be cut, not the first.

What could be better for Southampton’s future than to have generations of children who are literate, lively-minded and intellectually curious? The city will certainly get a better return on that than from flogging off a bit of land. And it would do more for its image than any number of laser displays.

Yours sincerely,




John Bird

on behalf of

Rory Bremner  John Fortune