Alan Templeton, chairman of Camden Public Library User Group

Published: 21 June, 2012
by DAN CARRIER

A SERIES of events celebrating the Olympics throughout the summer will cost £350,000 – prompting campaigners to criticise the Town Hall for spending cash on the Games while shutting libraries.

The Town Hall has planned 60 events billed as a “three-month extravaganza”, but the chairman of Camden Public Library User Group, Alan Templeton, has accused it of wasting council tax-payers’ money on a vanity project.

Last year, Camden Council announced it was cutting the leisure department’s budget by 25 per cent – leaving three libraries to be run by volunteers and others facing reduced opening hours.

He said: “It is a question of priorities. If your priority is to tick a few boxes that look good in the eyes of central government then this is the way to do it.

"This money could go towards keeping a library open. Why are they asking communities to cough up large amounts of money when they already have cash in the coffers?

"The answer is obviously so the Camden money can be spent on providing photo opportunities for Camden cabinet members.”

The programme of events includes  a “flash mob” photography session in King’s Cross, wrapping the portico of University College London in silk drapes, a pop-up storytelling festival at privately owned Granary Square in King’s Cross, and a day-long show, The Theatre of Radical Ideas, in Brunswick Square Gardens, Bloomsbury.

Labour leisure chief Councillor Tulip Siddiq defended the decision to spend council money on the events, saying the £350,000 included £47,000 directly from council coffers with the rest coming from links with other bodies, such as University College London, the Wellcome Trust and the British Museum.

“It is £47,000 we would have spent on cultural programmes anyway,” she said.

“We have simply put it towards celebrating the Olympics.

“I believe these events will bring people into Camden, and we expect a 13 per cent rise in visitors during the Games.”

She added that Town Hall number crunchers estimated that for every £1 the Town Hall invests, visitors could spend up to £1,300.

Cllr Siddiq added: “The cultural programme will increase visitors to the borough and provide a much-needed boost to businesses during the recession.”