This thoughtful and revealing piece comes from Save Stonehaven Library Coalition member Kirby Porter. My thanks to him for allowing it to be shared in full.
Think about this for a moment. A much-loved local library under threat. Several years of neglected maintenance leading to a six-figure requirement for remedial work to make the building fit for purpose. No money to do any of that. The drastic action proposed by Council Officers the only option on the table. No public consultation. Local councillors at best semi-detached and seemingly happy to follow the lead of Officers. Sounds like Stonehaven 2026, doesn’t it? But it’s not; it’s Inverbervie, 2024.
Inverbervie library was slated for closure in 2024 while Stonehaven library is currently under threat of a forced relocation to the unsuitable Viewmount building. Different outcomes, perhaps, but still part of the same clear pattern. Neglect, lack of finance, action which does not take into account the needs of the community the Council is supposed to serve.
As it turned out, thanks to the public outcry in Inverbervie when the closure was first announced, the library remains open. Albeit for only six hours a week. It was due to be relocated to Inverbervie Primary School but, as yet, the relocation has not taken place. Apparently, the relocation turned out to be more complex than Officers thought. I’m sure that they will find that Stonehaven’s move to be Viewmount will be more complex, too. Not just a simple question of moving the library 80 yards up the road and presumably why there is no sign of any Officer report being submitted to the Council’s Area Committee. June 2026 or even later, I’m told. With no question of public consultation before the report is produced for the Area Committee. Another part of the pattern.
When Live Life Aberdeenshire organized a series of drop-in engagement sessions for active library users in January this year, the invitation stated that the sessions ‘will explore options and opportunities for library co-location of services to Viewmount and community co-production to enhance services. But the sessions did nothing of the sort. In fact, any questions relating to Viewmount were quickly closed down in favour of participation in, what can only be called, a nursery school colouring-in activity day of ‘why I like the library’. Nothing about what other options were being considered, how these options had been costed, whether finance was available to make Viewmount fully accessible for library users, how the move would be undertaken and when, what will happen to the existing library building and how the community will be consulted properly before any decisions are taken. Questions for which there are still no answers. This is simply not good enough.
Community action saved Inverbervie library from closure. Community action can stop our library moving to Viewmount.
Kirby Porter draws these parallels with real clarity. As a community, we can keep Stonehaven Library where it belongs. Please sign the petition: Save Stonehaven Library – Sign the Petition to Stop the Relocation – Fill out form