A little extra to aid communities take on libraries

COMMUNITIES aiming to save libraries in Somerset threatened with closure have been given a financial sop by the county council.

An extra £22,000 could be made available to the 15 libraries that will close by 2019 unless community library partnerships (CLPs) can be formed.

It means cash-strapped Somerset County Council’s savings from cutting its library provision will fall from £345,000 per year to a potential £323,000 per year.

The extra support was agreed after a lengthy debate in Taunton this week.

The council has agreed to keep 19 of its libraries open as they stand – though staff at Cheddar, Ilminster, Langport and Martock libraries will have to bring forward plans to cut their costs.

The remaining 15 libraries will close unless community partnerships can be formed, with volunteers coming together to help run the service and fundraise towards their running costs.

Councillor David Hall, portfolio holder for community infrastructure, said the changes would “modernise the service and to put in on a sustainable footing” for the years ahead.

Peter Murphy from the Friends of Somerset Libraries (FOSL) called for all community-run libraries to be exempt from business rates. And he warned the council could be open to a legal challenge over the plans, pointing to a court judgement against Northamptonshire County Council where its proposed reduction in services would not deliver an adequate level of service.

Oliver Woodhams, the council’s strategic manager for community and traded services, responded that business rate relief would have to be handled by the relevant district or borough councils for any given area.

Regarding any possible legal challenge, he added: “We have obtained legal advice both internally and externally – the content of that advice is privileged, but it confirms the lawfulness of the proposal.

“The recommendations do not represent an intention to pass down the costs to parish or town councils. There is no expectation that they step in to fund community library partnerships.”

Councillor Frances Nicholson, cabinet member for children and families, said running the existing community library partnership in Porlock “requires a huge amount of time and determination to make it work”, and warned the council to be “very wary” of overstretching volunteers.

Under the revised scheme, the council will continue to provide a basic contribution to all 15 libraries which could be run by CLPs for the next seven years, rather than just eight libraries originally proposed.

These proposals reduce the annual savings to the council from £345,000 to around £323,000.