Council earmarks eight Hampshire libraries for closure - but councillor insists the future is safe

Hampshire County Council has announced proposals to close the libraries, and reduce all opening hours by an average of 20 per cent.

The news comes following a public consultation which ran earlier this year, which had responses from more than 20,000 people.

In the consultation, residents were presented with two options – close 10 libraries with reduced opening hours, or keep all libraries open with opening hours reduced further.

A total of 79 per cent of responses opposed the first option, but council officers have put this forward, minus Chineham and Emsworth libraries.

Blackfield, Elson, Fair Oak, Horndean, Lee-on-the-Solent, Lyndhurst, Odiham and South Ham libraries will be closed on January 1 next year, subject to the proposals being officially voted through next week.

Hampshire County Council expects to save £1.76m from the decision.

The council’s executive member for recreation and heritage, Cllr Sean Woodward, said despite the setback from the coronavirus pandemic, he believes this proposal will secure the future of the county’s library service.

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He said: ‘We need to have a comprehensive and efficient library service and want to see that preserved going forward.

‘This means we don’t need to thing again about opening hours or ways to raise income.

‘I think this is a watershed moment for our libraries.’

Council documents state that the closures will affect five per cent of all library visits in Hampshire.

In a media briefing, concerns were raised about the impact of closing libraries such as Lee-on-the-Solent and Horndean on nearby elderly residents, who may not be able to travel elsewhere.

But Cllr Woodward insisted that their needs would still be catered for.

‘It would be a shame if we lost some of our older residents,’ he said.

‘But we do offer a home library scheme as well, and that is very popular.

‘The amount of saving we have to do is unprecedented.’

With seven of the eight sites being freehold land, some argue the council could have sold one of the buildings to raise the necessary cash.

But Cllr Woodward says this isn’t an option, despite the council also looking at the possibility of not meeting the £1.76m target.

He said: ‘If you sell something you get a capital receipt, but once that money is spent you still have to find ways to save.’

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