HOOT Library – The Movie!

On National Library Day, dozens of local residents braved the snow, sleet and ice to join in the filming of HOOTLibrary – The Movie. And now here it is, in all its wonderful glory.

It took a fair bit of effort to make, and an awful lot of hard work from Roop and the team to film and edit, so please don’t let it go to waste. Do your bit to try to make sure it is seen by as many people as possible in Old Trafford and beyond. Share it, send the link, tell your friends – and above all, get them to fill in the consultation on the Council’s Website.

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM

Last week, about 120 residents came down to St John’s Centre for the Neighbourhood Forum. A brilliant turnout, and without exception every resident expressed strong objections to the council’s plans.

Points raised repeatedly from the table discussions included collective dismay that the council thought it was more sensible to remove all the staff from Old Trafford and Hale libraries, rather than sharing the pain around all of the council’s libraries. Issues around shortcomings in the Equalities Impact Assessment were raised, so too was the belief that Old Trafford is effectively being punished for its tradition of voluntary action and its strong community.

Deputy Leader Alex Williams did his best to get away without answering or addressing any of the points raised – saying they would announce their response to the consultation after it closes on March 5th. Residents refused to accept that, and demanded that he stay behind for another 15 minutes to answer questions raised from the floor.

It was a brilliant occasion from our point of view. The council could have been left in no doubt that Old Trafford says no.