Alan Bennett slams cuts as he opens new library run by the community

Playwright Alan Bennett has criticised the Government for allowing libraries to close.

Speaking at the opening of a new community-run library in Primrose Hill, Bennett said the service should be provided by the local authority and not be left to local people.

The running of Chalk Farm Library was handed over to Primrose Hill Community Association — whose patron is Dame Joan Bakewell — and Friends of Chalk Farm, after Camden council axed funding this year.

It officially reopened as Primrose Hill Community Library last night, attended by Dame Joan and Bennett as well as more than 150 local residents.

The playwright, best known for his works Talking Heads and History Boys, said it was “sad” people were left to run the services.

He said: “Libraries should be part of the community services. It should come from the local authority, from the Government. It shouldn’t have to come from the people.

“When I was a child all the books were marked with Leeds Borough Library. That is what it should be. It should be paid for out of rates and taxes.

“This library is something we can all be proud of and pleased about, but at the same time the real celebration will be the day when the local authority and the Government realise that libraries are not something which should depend on the efforts of people like us. They should be provided as a right in the way that education is provided.”

Bennett, 78, added: “People argue that there are Kindles and computers but some children are poor. They might be living in crowded spaces where they don’t get any peace and quiet. Libraries are an important place to go and read, it is a place to be quiet.”

Journalist and presenter Dame Joan, 79, also condemned the “deplorable” policies which have led to library closures.

She said: “I am a Labour peer, I don’t believe in all this ‘we are all in it together’ stuff. Libraries are for everybody, and they should be provided for them.” The community group has secured more than £500,000 funding from 494 donors, including local residents Jude Law and Harry Enfield. Camden council has also contributed to the start-up fund.

Dame Joan added: “Libraries are the lifeblood of ideas and they must not die. It is deplorable that the policies that have led to this mean that Camden have withdrawn their support.”