Is the fairytale over for Brent Libraries, asks Nicholas Dobson
Litigation rarely produces a happy outcome for all concerned. And the contention surrounding proposed library closures in Brent is no exception. For, following the dismissal by Ouseley J on 13 October 2011 of challenges to the Council’s decision to close six of its 12 public libraries, the judge’s decision was on 19 December 2011 upheld by the Court of Appeal (R (Bailey & others) v London Borough of Brent Council and another [2011] EWCA Civ 1586, [2011] All ER (D) 193 (Dec)—Pill, Davis and Richards LJJ).
But although Davis LJ, in dismissing the appellants’ appeal, referred to the judge’s “most careful and thorough review of all the points advanced”, the appellants were considerably less impressed, intimating a potential appeal to the Supreme Court.
The statutory and factual background was briefly summarised in my NLJ article of 25 November 2011 (see 161 NLJ 7491, p 1624). The case in particular surrounded the public sector equality duty in s 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) (with its “protected characteristics” including “race”) and
