'A library is more than a place with books, it is a lifeline'

The purpose-built, glass-fronted Broad Green Library sits unobtrusively betwixt 2 blocks of flats successful the mediate of a bustling residential thoroughfare successful Croydon.

For Kiran Choda, a full-time carer to her aged mother, this 1990s gathering successful the southbound London borough has been a spot of sanctuary and a captious portion of her life.

And then, precocious past year, the room was permanently closed.

Those who depended connected Broad Green accidental the closure has been devastating, with galore utilizing the operation "home" to picture what this single-storey gathering meant to them.

They are not alone. Research by the BBC has recovered 190 libraries crossed the UK person unopen successful the past 5 years, 20 of them successful London alone, arsenic councils desperately effort to prevention money.

Councils considering further room cuts successful the coming twelvemonth include:

• Seven successful Enfield
• Three in Havering
• Two - successful Langley and Chippenham - projected by Slough Borough Council. A determination volition beryllium made successful April.
• Seven room closures were initially projected successful Peterborough though the assembly says it is presently moving connected "further recommendations"
• Rutland County Council volition decide connected the aboriginal of Ryhall Library successful April

Ms Choda, who has fibromyalgia which leaves her successful "constant symptom and fatigued", says arsenic good arsenic giving her play respite from her caring duties, Broad Green was besides a spot of immense applicable importance.

"It was a lifeline for maine successful presumption of being capable to get my play buying done and to benignant retired each my admin," says Ms Choda, who does not usage a astute telephone due to the fact that she struggles to usage them for immoderate magnitude of clip due to the fact that of her wellness condition.

The library, which outgo £101,727 a twelvemonth to run, was besides a spot of friendship. She joined a mates of groups, including a poesy club.

"It opened up a full caller beingness for me," she says.

"I've made friends done the room that I ne'er would person had, and I conscionable had a small clip for myself, a small bid and serenity.

"When we recovered retired the room had closed, it was devastating.

"I bash consciousness isolated now."

Croydon Voluntary Action's gathering is simply a 20-minute locomotion from Broad Green Library. Here, a yoga and meditation league is being held by the Empowering Tamil Families group.

The sessions – attended mostly by aged women - started beingness wrong the present defunct library.

The determination crossed municipality meant the radical mislaid a fig of loyal members, for whom the locomotion is simply deemed excessively far.

Meera Jeyakumar, who leads the session, says: "I miss those radical - much than 15 to 20 of them. That's the happening astir the room – erstwhile it happened successful the library, they each came.

"For those who lived astir the room country it was a 1 oregon two-minute walk."

Until 2010, Meera Ms Jeyakumar lived successful Midhurst Avenue, which is the adjacent thoroughfare down from the Canterbury Road location of Broad Green Library.

Although they are present each grown up – and person children of their ain – she regularly took her 3 sons to Broad Green.

"I took them each time to the parkland adjacent to the library," she says.

"They would play determination and work books each time there.

"Yes, I person got memories, bully memories."

The determination to adjacent Broad Green, Bradmore Green, Sansterstead and Shirley libraries successful Croydon was made past year.

It was not a determination taken lightly, says Croydon's enforcement politician Jason Perry.

When helium took implicit the reins arsenic politician successful 2022, the assembly had 13 libraries.

"Many of them were unfastened lone 2 days a week. So [they were] not truly serving their section communities."

The anticipation was that savings made from closing 4 libraries would mean other wealth to put successful the 9 surviving libraries.

Deciding which to shut, Mr Perry says "it was truly down to usage".

"Less than 10% of our residents were really visiting libraries.

"Those that were the lowest usage fundamentally were the ones that were past shut."

Data from Croydon Council shows Broad Green was the 4th slightest visited of Croydon's libraries, with conscionable implicit 17,000 visits successful 2023-24.

However, documents produced by the assembly up of the closure determination highlighted that "active idiosyncratic data" did not see visitors utilizing the room arsenic a survey space, to usage the wifi oregon to be an lawsuit oregon group.

That would see groups similar the penning nine founded by Chloe Smith which, she says, attracted a "mixed bag" of members ranging from full-time carers to moving professionals to "people needing it to link and rebuild".

She compares the nonaccomplishment of the room to that of different "community assets" specified arsenic pubs, assemblage centres oregon playing fields.

It was, she says, a "meeting spot for people".

It was also, arsenic Kiran found, an important assets due to the fact that "not everyone has the income to person laptops oregon wifi" and truthful utilized the computers astatine the room to wage their bills online.

"I deliberation the closure of Broad Green is going to person a truly detrimental effect connected the section area," says Ms Smith. "It is going to isolate radical further due to the fact that determination are nary different assets similar the library."

She says the room felt similar a 2nd "home" for her. The penning radical is presently homeless.

"We've been forced into becoming a nomadic assemblage not of our ain choosing.

"But we adapt, we transportation connected and we volition bash it together."