Westminster's first libraries and archives survey closes 16 November, with free forums at 13 venues. The council cites financial pressures. Dates and times.
Westminster residents have until 16 November to answer the council’s first survey on the future of its libraries and archives. Both councils that share the service say they are “facing significant financial pressures”.
The survey is run jointly with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, because the two boroughs share one library and archive service. It opened on 21 September and closes on Monday 16 November, according to the consultation page on Kensington and Chelsea’s hub.
Alongside it, the service is holding 13 free community forums in Westminster. The first is at Paddington Library on Tuesday 6 October.
Why the council is asking now
The council’s own announcement is upbeat. Councillor Robert Rigby, Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Civic Pride, called it “an important opportunity for us to hear from the people who use our services”.
The consultation page itself is blunter. It says:
“At the same time, both councils are facing significant financial pressures. This means we need to think carefully about how library and archive services are provided in the future, how resources are used, and how we keep services sustainable and relevant.”
The council’s survey page uses almost the same words.
Neither page proposes closing or changing any library. There is no option on the table yet to comment on. The survey asks what works, what does not, what stops people using the service and how it could “work differently”.
That language matters because of the wider budget. In August the council said its core government funding falls from £219 million to £119 million, and put its total budget gap at £160 million over four years. Libraries are one of the services that gap has to be found from.
How busy the service is
The consultation page gives these figures for 2025/26. They cover both boroughs together, not Westminster alone:
- 2,183,037 visits
- 58,455 active members
- 150,259 people attending events
The community forums
Each forum is free. The Eventbrite listing for the series says you can “book a place or simply turn up”. Booking is through the Have your say on Libraries and Archives page on Eventbrite.
| Date | Venue | Start |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 6 Oct | Paddington Library | 5.30pm |
| Tue 13 Oct | Westminster City Archives | 1pm |
| Thu 15 Oct | Marylebone Library | 10am |
| Mon 26 Oct | Pimlico Library | 5pm |
| Wed 28 Oct | St John’s Wood Library | 11am |
| Fri 6 Nov | Maida Vale Library | 3pm |
| Tue 10 Nov | Queen’s Park Library | 5.30pm |
| Wed 11 Nov | West End Arts Library | 1.30pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Victoria Library | 3pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Charing Cross Library | 5pm |
| Wed 18 Nov | West End Arts Library | 1.30pm |
| Thu 19 Nov | Church Street Library | 11am |
| Tue 24 Nov | Mayfair Library | 4pm |
Four of the forums fall after the survey closes: Charing Cross, the second West End Arts session, Church Street and Mayfair. If you use one of those libraries, you can still go to the forum. Fill in the survey by 16 November as well, so your answers are counted with everyone else’s.
What it means for you
- If you use a Westminster library or the City Archives, the survey is the record the councils will work from. It takes your views on the spaces and services you use, and on anything that makes them harder to reach.
- If your branch matters to you, the forum at that branch is the place to say so in person. Paddington, the Archives and Marylebone all come up in the next fortnight.
- If you need the survey in another format, the councils ask you to email libraries@westminster.gov.uk or libraries@rbkc.gov.uk.
The survey is at consult.rbkc.gov.uk. Westminster residents use the same form as Kensington and Chelsea residents.
Have your say