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Plan to turn library into gym ‘will damage listed building’

LIBRARY campaigners in the London borough of Lambeth are warning of “irreversible damage” to a Grade II listed building if it is turned into a gym.

Under council plans, Carnegie Library in Herne Hill would be partly run by social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Limited.

Four other Lambeth libraries are under threat of conversion into so-called “healthy living centres,” which campaigners have dubbed “zombie libraries” for their lack of staff.

Also in the borough, Waterloo Library has been moved into a building shared with a church and cafe. Library staff are only on site for between two and four hours a day.

A public meeting will be held at Brixton Library on Thursday next week from 8pm by Defend The Ten campaigners in a bid to safeguard all of the libraries.

Last April, there was a sit-in protest at Carnegie Library lasting for 10 days. Residents continued with the library’s gardening and chess clubs and teenagers used the space to study for exams.

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