I AM convinced that the Darlington Labour group’s arguments for relocating the Crown Street library into the Dolphin Centre are simply a quick commercial fix and do nothing to safeguard either location in the future.

I cannot find any location in the country where there has been a transfer from a Victorian, purpose-built library which has been gifted to a town.

The plan is without precedent, a plan which in most councils that believe in, and value, their heritage would not see the light of day.

It is a plan which does not provide a shred of evidence of future-proofing the library building for public use. In fact, it simply states the council will sell the building which will then become someone else’s problem – no it won’t, it will still be a Darlington problem.

It is the council cabinet’s duty to protect the heritage of our town, but the plan tears the heart out of what little heritage buildings remain.

The sacrifice of the Crown Street library for commercial expediency is wrong in every respect. It is not what people who value the history of our town would ever consider appropriate.

I reject in the strongest possible terms this proposal which is based on questionable statistics, worrying financial calculations and a total lack of understanding of what it is to be a Darlington resident.

Cllr Charles Johnson (Conservative), Darlington.