Sadiq Khan steps in to save London Underground book exchanges after the bookshelves had been deemed to breach fire regulations
by TimesandSundayTimes
Sadiq Khan steps in to save London Underground book exchanges after the bookshelves had been deemed to breach fire regulations
by TimesandSundayTimes
9 comments
Great the book shelves are to be retained. But worrying that they breach fire regulations as highlighted by LFB. I would come down on the side of safety always first.
Those book exchanges always add character to the stations. Glad to see they will be kept.
If you read the article Sadiq Khan is proposing that the libraries be re-instated, but that Fahrenheit 451 will be banned.
I’ll get my coat.
All the copies of Metro lying around probably represent a greater risk of fire, if I’m honest. But a bookcase (even a small one) in a fire exit is a serious risk.
Would be nice if they could retrofit the book exchanges into the walls so they don’t stand out, but that’s probably a lot of work to solve a problem that is quite small.
>However, a source close to the mayor said Khan had “stepped in to reverse this decision as soon as possible”. The source said: “TfL are working urgently with the London Fire Brigade to ensure this happens.” Both bodies report to the mayor.
That’s as much “content” as the paywalled story has….
Who tf cares, do something about the amount of people that are going to get their support taken away by the welfare cuts
Give that man a knighthood!
Ironically, he was the responsible Minister for signing-off on [the relevant legislation](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/782/made) in 2009, back when he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in what was then the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Article text (why tf is The Times allowed to post paywalled content here from an official account?):
>Book exchanges look set to be reinstated on the London Underground after an intervention by Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London.
>The shelves, which encouraged commuters to leave and take used books for their commute, had become an unlikely victim of a health and safety crackdown led by the capital’s fire authority.
>The London Fire Brigade had asked Transport for London (TfL) to remove the books, or “combustible materials”, from Tube stations as they looked to enforce regulations that first came into force in 2009.
>TfL said on Wednesday that they had advised station staff to remove the libraries while they worked on potential solutions.
>However, a source close to the mayor said Khan had “stepped in to reverse this decision as soon as possible”. The source said: “TfL are working urgently with the London Fire Brigade to ensure this happens.” Both bodies report to the mayor.
>The shelves, which encouraged commuters to leave and take used books for their commute, had become an unlikely victim of a health and safety crackdown led by the capital’s fire authority.
>The London Fire Brigade had asked Transport for London (TfL) to remove the books, or “combustible materials”, from Tube stations as they looked to enforce regulations that first came into force in 2009.
>TfL said on Wednesday that they had advised station staff to remove the libraries while they worked on potential solutions.
>However, a source close to the mayor said Khan had “stepped in to reverse this decision as soon as possible”. The source said: “TfL are working urgently with the London Fire Brigade to ensure this happens.” Both bodies report to the mayor.
>Staff at stations across the Underground had spent the first half of this week removing dozens of books but will now, it seems, be able to restock their community libraries.
>Anthony Fairclough, a councillor in Merton who set up an exchange at Wimbledon station, had said the book swaps were “a way of developing a bit of a community, making the station feel more human — something you engaged with, not just something you passed through”.
>He added: “While we should always take [safety] concerns seriously, I do wonder whether there is evidence of small sets of shelves of books being a significant risk of fire.”
>It would appear the mayor of London shared his scepticism.
>Fairclough said on Thursday: “I’m pleased to see Sadiq Khan is listening on this, although a bit surprised it needed to go that far. This is clearly an issue where any risks could just be managed, like lots of other risks at stations already are.”
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