The fight to undo the closure of six libraries and a swimming pool in Aberdeen has been launched in the courts.
A petition has been lodged with the Court of Session in Edinburgh for a judicial review of the city council’s decision to close Bucksburn pool and Woodside Library.
Similar action could follow to reverse the fates of libraries in Cornhill, Cults, Ferryhill, Kaimhill and Northfield.
If the shutdown of all seven ends up in court, it could hit council coffers for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
There has been tireless protest across Aberdeen at last month’s closures, following the first budget passed since the SNP and Liberal Democrats took charge at the Town House.
Could Aberdeen City Council lose? And will that mean libraries and Bucksburn pool have to reopen?
“The plan is that these libraries and the pool would open again, that’s what we want to happen,” Hannah Moneagle told The Press And Journal.
The director and principal solicitor at the Grampian Community Law Centre, based at Robert Gordon University, is assisting the campaigners in making their case.
“Basically we want the judgment to be that the decisions made were unlawful and thus they have to be quashed.
“That would mean we potentially would be back at the starting point where those services have to reopen.”
Together with solicitor advocate Mike Dailly, of the Govan Law Centre, she believes the case is winnable.
“The fact of the matter is that we’ve reviewed the facts and circumstances and we wouldn’t be proceeding with a legal case of this magnitude, if we didn’t feel there was a case to answer.”
How did it come to this?
Aberdeen City Council was given until noon on Wednesday to respond to the lawyers.
We previously revealed talks had faltered in mid-April and campaigners were bracing for a court battle.
Attempts at a discussion have continued, alongside pre-action letters informing legal chiefs of their intention to bring litigation.
Council bosses last week reportedly told the campaign they would not be able to meet Wednesday’s deadline. The P&J understands they have said nothing more.
And when approached for comment on this article, both the local authority and its leisure operator Sport Aberdeen declined.
“We are unable to comment on any ongoing legal action,” a city spokeswoman said.
When the budget was passed in March, the six library closures were worth a £280,000 saving a year.
Bucksburn pool’s annual running costs are understood to be around £80,000. But looming repairs were expected to cost £400,000 in the very near future.
Fears council will get rid of the libraries and pool before courts rule
Campaigners have moved with haste to lodge their court petition, growing increasingly concerned as the disused libraries are listed for council giveaway.
Of the six, only Cornhill has not been listed among the local authority’s assets available for community transfer.
The legal case has been aided by a local woman, who is affected – along with her son – by the closure of both Aberdeen’s oldest library at Woodside and the pool closure in Bucksburn.
Miss Moneagle told us: “We’re ready to go. The petition has been drafted and it has been quite a complex process putting it together.
“We don’t want to waste any more time on it. We feel that we’ve given the council every opportunity to engage and they haven’t.
“And so, I think we are probably now well on the road to going through litigation with them.
“We have had no assurances from the council or Sport Aberdeen that any of the buildings are safeguarded while we got through this process.
“Our biggest concern is the risk factor that the buildings could be transferred or demolished while we sit on this.”
The lawyers are considering seeking interim court orders – a stop notice of sorts – to ensure the council holds on to the buildings until there is a ruling.
How much could this fight cost Aberdeen City Council?
In the meantime, it is feared the public purse could be hit for hundreds of thousands of pounds if there is a judicial review.
The city is no stranger to the process having successfully staved off a challenge of its approval of Aberdeen FC’s Kingsford Stadium plans.
But lawyers primed for this clash believe a lack of public consultation on the closures, and a lack of assessment into their impact, leaves the local authority vulnerable.
Miss Moneagle recently led the challenge of Moray Council’s housing plans for the Slochy Woodlands in Portessie.
A far simpler case, she said it cost Moray £17,500 to defend, unsuccessfully.
Having to cover her legal fees too, the local authority will be looking at the cost about doubling.
And the Aberdeen library and pool closure court case is “far more complex” than that “relatively small and simple” Slochy challenge.
With Mr Dailly, a solicitor advocate, involved, the fees will likely be higher in the library and pool closure review.
Grampian Community Law Centre chief Miss Moneagle added: “I would say that this could end up in hundreds of thousands of pounds if we go to lodge the other petitions as well.
“And that would seem ironic, given the fact that the council has made these closures to try and save money and now they’re willing to go to court to uphold their decision-making. It is, in my opinion, counterproductive.”
How long will the court challenge take?
The legal process could be “long and costly” for the city.
Now the rush to lodge papers with the Court of Session is over, the solicitors will begin building their case.
“That takes time,” Miss Moneagle, who is also leading the community fight against the energy transition zone plans for St Fittick’s Park in Torry, said.
“It may be that nothing happens terribly quickly but lodging our application it shows our intent.”
Her Slochy fight took more than two years. But she hopes the high-profile nature of this legal bid could speed up the process.
However, it will depend on how busy the court is with other cases and how soon both sides have their arguments ready.
“It’s a bit of an unknown feast, to be honest,” Miss Moneagle added.
“But our side will be pushing because we do understand that the longer this goes on, the longer it leaves people without these services.”
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