Everton residents say the closure of Breck Road Library is already harming one of Liverpool’s most disadvantaged communities. The library, which shut its doors in October 2025, served an area with high levels of child poverty, unemployment and long-term ill health. Campaigners are urging the council to act swiftly to reopen it as a full-time, professionally staffed service, arguing that vague promises of a future “community hub” are no substitute for a functioning library in the present. For many residents, the loss is not abstract, it is immediate and practical.
Why Breck Road Library matters
Ruth Knox of campaign group, Liverpool Against the Cuts said in an interview with North West Bylines that the sudden closure in October 2025 came as a shock. “It was really popular, well used, lots of other activities,” Knox said. “It was functioning as part of the whole family of Liverpool libraries.”
Previously run by Alt Valley Community Trust with council funding, the library had been open five days a week and offered a range of activities, from toddlers’ rhyme time to pensioners’ coffee mornings and business support sessions. That meant access to the wider library network – inter-library loans, professional librarians, structured literacy programmes and consistent opening hours. It was not an isolated volunteer project, but an integrated public service embedded in the city’s provision.
Campaigners warn that Everton’s high levels of poverty, disability, and educational disadvantage mean the loss of the library disproportionately affects vulnerable residents. Knox also highlights practical barriers to using other nearby libraries. “The idea of a young mum with a buggy getting on a bus to go to another library becomes impractical,” she explained.
For residents without cars, limited disposable income or flexible working hours, even a short journey across the city can be a significant obstacle. It can be time consuming and bus fares add up putting more financial strain on families. What appears to be manageable and practical on paper in reality becomes prohibitive in practice.
A long history of library battles
The current closure reflects a longer history of library disputes in Liverpool. At the height of post-2010 austerity, local authorities across England were required to make deep budget reductions. In Liverpool, one of the hardest-hit councils, libraries became a flashpoint. In 2014, these budget cuts threatened 11 libraries. Community campaigns, petitions and protests forced a rethink, leading to a compromise in which several libraries were transferred to community trusts but continued to receive council funding and professional support.
Under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, councils have a statutory duty to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service. Campaigners argue that technical compliance – measured by distance on a map – is not the same as meaningful access for communities facing structural disadvantage.
Knox says:
If they said Alt Valley Community Trust is an absolutely unreliable partner and they’re not paying their rent and we’re going to take back this library and run it, I would have no problems. But why should the people of Everton suffer?
Impact on children and education
Knox stresses the closure will hit children hardest. Breck Road Library offered regular reading sessions, introducing toddlers to books and fostering early learning. She says:
Enjoyment of reading from an early age is one of the most important indicators of later academic success
In an area where school readiness levels are already below the national average, the loss of structured reading sessions and informal learning spaces may widen existing gaps. For some families, the library provided the only quiet, warm and welcoming environment dedicated to books and learning. Without a nearby library, families may skip these opportunities entirely.
For children with special educational needs, familiar spaces and trained staff can make the difference between engagement and withdrawal. Removing that stability risks compounding already significant challenges. Everton has the highest number of children with special educational needs in Liverpool, and low overall school readiness makes access to library services critical.
Pride in Place: promise or distraction?
Labour councillors have suggested that future Pride in Place funding could help establish a new community hub in Everton. Pride in Place is a ten-year regeneration programme, estimated at around £20mn in total. Knox, however, remains sceptical. “There is no actual commitment to a library, just a vague promise of a possible hub in the future,” she said. “But what we need is a library now, open and functioning as the previous library was.”
While £20mn over ten years may sound substantial, it equates to approximately £2mn per year spread across multiple priorities. Campaigners argue that this funding is designed to enhance neighbourhoods, not to replace essential statutory services that have been withdrawn. “If you take away a facility and then use Pride in Place money to replace it, you’re not making the area better,” Knox said. “You’re simply restoring what people already had.”
A question of council responsibility
Some council statements argue that other libraries within two miles satisfy their obligations. Knox disagrees. “Strictly speaking, that’s true, but it doesn’t fulfil their commitments to Everton when you consider the needs of the community,” she said.
Campaigners argue that measuring provision by geographical radius alone ignores socio-economic reality. In communities with high disability rates, low car ownership and limited public transport flexibility, proximity on a map does not equate to genuine accessibility.
Professional librarians provide more than book loans. They deliver safeguarding, literacy development, digital support and structured educational activities. Volunteers can enrich a service, but campaigners insist they cannot replace trained staff accountable within a public system. “Volunteers are a huge asset, but they are not a substitute,” Knox added.
Campaigners demand action; more than a local dispute
Campaigners are clear: reopening Breck Road Library as a fully-funded, professionally run service is the only acceptable outcome to them. Public meetings, petitions, and outreach to schools by local writers and campaign groups are planned to keep pressure on the council.
“Liverpool launches the Year of Reading – and closes a library. Never give up. This is not dead.”
For those involved, the closure is not simply a dispute over budgets or buildings. It represents a broader test of Liverpool City Council’s commitment to one of its most deprived communities. In a ward facing high levels of poverty, disability and educational disadvantage, the loss of a functioning library carries consequences that extend far beyond book borrowing.
Until the doors reopen, Everton residents remain without a vital civic space that supports inclusion, education and family life. Campaigners argue that the issue is about more than just restoring a service, it is about safeguarding equal access to opportunity. They insist the fight will continue until Brek Road Library returns as a permanent, properly resourced part of Liverpool’s public library network.
The campaign, they say, shows no sign of fading.
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