LCA facilitated a public meeting with Cllr Jim Battle who said he was impressed by the energetic actions of the campaign group who have been protesting about the proposed closures of both the Baths and the Library. He confirmed that £6.5 million has been set aside from capital receipts of the Council for a new-build Joint Service centre which is due to be built by 2015 at a location somewhere in Levenshulme. He could not confirm where this is to be as the land was still under negotiation. He was asked to shepherd the negotiations for keeping open our vital and only public buildings until the new facilities are ready to use. Two teams of campaigners have made recommendations about possible sources of funding which COULD be used to keep them open, but the use of Public Health money for the Baths and wwider considerations about the whole city's Libraries will be discussed in a series of Council meetings leading up to an Executive Committee meeting on 13th April, where final decisions about how to deal with the latest round of cuts will be made. The Campaign group raised with him the serious impact on the area if either or both these publicly owned resources are removed before the new one is opened. We committed to keep up creative efforts to convince the Council to respect these needs of Levenshulme people.

LCA is working with a large group of campaigners and groups, like the Over 50s Swimming Club and Asian Ladies Swimming Group, who want to make sure the Council keeps the baths open and that they understand the need for privacy, which is the joy of having two pools at levy baths. Library users are being asked to write letters as well as complete the Consultation forms to show what the Library means to each of us - not just a source of book borrowing, but a place to meet, a heart of our community.

This will be a huge parade through the centre of Manchester to celebrate the right of all women - and men too, to walk about on the street without feeling afraid.