About the group
Local authority to the town of Burton Latimer
What we funded and why
£30,000 was awarded through the Burton Wold Community Wind Farm Fund, to secure the future of the library. This will provide much needed funds for the payment of the loan on the property, funds to host events and services to users. The core activities will be included in the overarching approach of community development, so will be highly inclusive, particularly geared to the vulnerable and excluded members of the community. Within this approach there will be an emphasis on the promotion of social, emotional, and economic wellbeing with close links to BL Health Centre and the schools. There will be an extensive outreach programme to ensure that everyone in Burton Latimer knows that the library is owned by them, for them and the programme of activities will be delivered as a result of public discourse. We will also have a focus on environmental sustainability.
The Town Council held a series of consultation events following requests from residents, they purchased the facility in order to prevent its closure. A vote was taken which was unanimous to retain the facility for residents. Since opening the library receives a daily high footfall, this includes all age ranges from the community, the ramblers have a regular meeting point each week, the children from local schools visit regularly, the library is always well attended each day, resulting in the need for more volunteers to become available to the service. The facility also offers home delivery service to members of the community who are unable to visit in person.
The residents of Burton Latimer would not have a facility to offer the services the community needs, this puts a strain on the local NHS and County Council who are unable to offer these services at present due to huge waiting lists and cuts to services. The Library offers a large host of resources for those able-bodied and not, the mentally impaired, children, elderly and the general community. The nearest library is Kettering and many residents are unable to go to that facility, many services have been stopped at Kettering, the bus pass service has been invaluable to residents as this is one of the services that have been cut. North Northamptonshire have requested Burton Latimer to set up many services that are unavailable elsewhere, such as the cancer support groups, bus pass, disabled badges and child safeguarding events. Having the library in the town enables those who do not have access to transport to utilise this facility.