“What do we want? A library! When do we want it? Now!” Tegan Maass meets the Sherwood residents demanding the return of a much-loved community space.
There is a buzz in the air in Woodthorpe Park, the meeting point for Sherwood Library campaigners fighting back against the failure to open the long-awaited community hub.
Placards are hastily handed out and flyers are distributed to the large crowd forming on the edge of Mansfield Road.
Hushed words of anticipation turn into angry chants and emboldened speeches.
Sherwood residents have had enough – they want their library opened, and they want it now.
Andy Luzuriaga is father to a young daughter who has a big love of stories.
He has come to the rally with his wife and child in the hopes of seeing the library open as quickly as possible.
He says: “We want to have the library for when our daughter is grown up because she really loves books, and we want her to grow up in a place where she can go and access information and be able to read books like how we did when we were young.
“It has been a while since it has been open, and we want to know what’s been going on essentially.“
Sherwood library has been closed since 2017, after it was originally deemed unfit for purpose.
In 2020, plans were made to rebuild the library with added commercial and housing space.
But in 2023, numerous defects were discovered, leading to ongoing delays and missed deadlines.
And this has left a community without a community hub.
Sherwood Community Centre trustee and early years practitioner, Louise Holland, is angry at the impact of having no library on young children.
She says: “I know the importance of stories and books and rhymes.
“I feel the children of Sherwood, and the surrounding areas, need their library.
“They need a place for connection, rhyme time, meeting other people as well as hearing songs and hearing a wide range of stories.
“Children that hear a range of stories and develop literacy early do better in school.”
Louise says it is not just children that benefit from having a library, and that it can make a difference to everybody.
She says: “We need a library in Sherwood, not just for the books but for internet access, people applying for jobs, meeting people locally and having support.
“By spending money on the library, by getting it open, not only will we have a library in Sherwood, but we will be making a difference to those in the community.”
A blame game between Nottingham City Council and Hockley Developments has erupted, with both parties holding the other responsible for fixing ongoing problems.
But this has left those in Sherwood with a feeling of frustration and cynicism.
This anger can be heard for miles as the group march down Mansfield Road, chanting and demanding change.
As traffic builds up, the mood of the group becomes even more determined.
The group clamours: “We don’t want your crocodile tears, open the library now!”
And: “What do we want? A library! When do we want it? Now!”
A little girl, adorned with a placard of ‘save our library’ shouts “fix those snags!” as she is led by her parents through the crowd.
The crowd finishes their march outside the doomed library itself, a dead and shrivelled ‘living garden wall’ capturing the neglect that the library has been subjected to.
A petition, started by local councillor Adele Williams (Labour) is being handed round, demanding that the library is completed and opened by July, when summer reading challenges for children will begin.
It had already surpassed 400 signatures before the protest.
Desmond Conway, who has been spearheading the campaign to save Sherwood Library, is one of the first speakers to address the crowd.
He says: “We’ve got empty shelves – we want resources, and books and materials.
“It has become a complete joke and embarrassment.
“I’ve lost count of the number of citizen’s questions I have submitted on this issue.”
He also calls out councillors who he says aren’t comprehending the “anger” and “frustration” of all the Sherwood residents who’ve been without a library for nearly five years.
Having worked in libraries his whole life, Desmond is passionate about the importance of Sherwood library to the local community.
Reflecting on the demonstration, he says: “It’s been a great day today, by the end there possibly up to 150 people.
“It was very very lively, with all generations of folks desperate to get our library open.”
Despite countless setbacks, Desmond is just as determined as ever to hold both the council and Hockley Developments to account.
And as he speaks to the crowd who have stayed long after the march is over, it is clear that Sherwood residents will continue to fight as long as necessary until their library is finally opened.
Responding to a Freedom of Information request at a Nottingham City Council meeting, Councillor Sam Lux said: “In the light of progress made to date it is difficult at this time to give clear timescale for the re-opening of the library.
“The library service team and I want to make this operational as quickly as is possible but will not do so if the building is not certified as safe and fit for operation.”
Hockley Developments has previously told the BBC: “We believe there is nothing now, from our build contractor’s side, delaying the library opening.
“We shall continue to provide support to the building owner and tenants where we can.”
