A local campaigner has issued a claim for a Judicial Review against Caerphilly Borough Council on their decision to close ten libraries within the county.
In May 2025, cabinet members for Caerphilly Borough Council announced that they would be pushing ahead with the proposals to close the libraries, despite calls from backbenchers, trade union representatives, and supporters to defer the decision. Now, there is a view that the decision taken by the Council to close the libraries was unlawful, and a claim for a Judicial Review has been issued, seeking the courts to quash the decision and prevent the closure of the libraries at this time.
The libraries, which are in Aberbargoed, Abercarn, Abertridwr, Bedwas, Deri, Llanbradach, Machen, Nelson, Oakdale and Pengam were scheduled to close on August 31 2025. Caerphilly Borough Council have now said that these closures have been put on hold.
Head of Public Law, Craig Court, is handling the judicial review: “I have been impressed with the dogged determination shown by the campaign to date, fighting to save such important community assets. We have now issued the Judicial Review at court on behalf of our client and will await the court’s consideration in due course”.
Users of the ten libraries in the effected communities include families with young children, pensioners, people with disabilities, and many local people without their own transport. For them, these local libraries are a lifeline.
Mariam Kamish is the Secretary of Caerphilly Trades Union Council, which has backed the campaign to save the libraries from the start: “We knew we couldn’t let these libraries close without a fight”.
“It has been widely reported in the last few days that Caerphilly Borough Council spent more than £800,000.00 on staff Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in the 2024/25 financial year, and campaigners can’t help wondering what is happening internally that the council doesn’t want the public to know about. We’d like to see that level of spending on our local libraries and leisure centres”.
Ms Kamish continues, “We have said from day one, ‘we’ll fight until we win’. We want to thank all the campaigners who’ve been fighting for months, our supporters in the trade unions, rebel councillor Brenda Miles, the press who’ve been covering the story – and of course, the activist taking the case to court, and Craig Court and Ryan Martyn of Harding Evans who are handling the case”.
How can we help?
If you have been affected by a decision made by a public authority which you believe to be unlawful, please contact our Public Law team. They will review your case, advise on whether you are able to bring a Judicial Review, and guide you through the process.
