A debate has broken out in Stockport over repairs at Reddish library.

Stockport MP Navendu Mishra wrote a letter to Cllr Mark Roberts, leader of Stockport Council, calling on the Lib Dem-controlled authority to prioritise repairs for the library, saying the area had been 'overlooked'.

However, the council leader said: "The insinuation that the Liberal Democrats are neglecting parts of our borough is utterly wrong."

Mr Mishra's letter expressed disappointment that the 119-year-old Edwardian building hadn't been given a standalone application for the government's Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF).

Instead, the council opted for a combined £493,000 bid to improve children's services at Bredbury, Cheadle Hulme, Great Moor and Reddish libraries.

The application was part of £6.3 million earmarked for the LIF, with Stockport ultimately missing out, whereas Manchester and Rochdale won a combined £193,000.

Mr Mishra said: "Given that 2026 is the National Year of Reading, it is particularly concerning that Reddish continues to be left with a library building that is crumbling.

"While I recognise and welcome the investment secured for Bramall Hall, including £1 million this year in addition to £1.6 million previously awarded, many of my constituents feel strongly that Reddish has once again been overlooked.

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"As you know, I have consistently raised concerns about the lack of overall investment in Reddish.

"While I welcome funding and development across all areas of Stockport including those within the [Lib Dem] Hazel Grove and Cheadle constituencies, it remains my responsibility to press both Stockport Council and central government to ensure that my constituency receives its fair share.

"This must include meaningful investment in Reddish."

He also highlighted the cost of scaffolding outside the library, which has been there for three years at an estimated cost to residents of £30,000, and the ongoing temporary closure of Stockport Central Library, which shut its doors in September 2025 with no reopening date yet in sight.

In response to the letter, Cllr Mark Roberts said: "The quality of the Council estate did not decline overnight, and the repairs to our buildings will not happen overnight either.

"Yet the consistent underfunding from the Labour government means the Council has one hand tied behind its back, whilst the other tries to juggle maintaining a level of service that our residents deserve, following the years of inaction under the previous labour administration.

"The insinuation that the Liberal Democrats are neglecting parts of our borough is utterly wrong.

"A huge amount of work goes into ensuring the most vulnerable residents get the support they need, whilst we have tirelessly championed all parts of our borough to try and get the fair funding the government promised and failed to deliver.

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"This ambition for all contrasts with a Labour party whose former MP for Reddish opted not to back a bid for levelling up money in Reddish, then supported a bid in Tameside instead.

"A Labour government that has denied Stockport a share of its £600 million recovery grant, then reject Lancashire Hill and Reddish from being a trailblazer neighbourhood, denying residents much needed funding in the process.

"The Labour party has taken so many areas for granted for years, and being scared to stand up to their own government, whilst wrongly pointing fingers, just makes that problem worse. I'm not surprised local residents are so fed up with them."

In April, following the LIF rejection decision, Cllr Roberts also said: "We are disappointed to learn Stockport has been rejected again by this Labour Government for vital funding.

"In this case it would transform the children's offer in four of our local libraries, something we Lib Dems feel is truly deserving of investment.

"This is made worse by them shutting out Stockport from the £600 million recovery grant support for deprived areas, leaving out the borough with the most deprived area in the whole of Greater Manchester.

"It's difficult to think anything other than we've been unfairly treated yet again. We have bold ambitions for our local area and Labour nationally have shown again that they just don't seem to care.

"It is particularly difficult to swallow desperate election promises by Labour candidates when their government denies the funding we need for our libraries."

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