Whitworth Library facing closure

Whitworth Library is facing closure following the announcement of drastic cuts by Lancashire County Council.

Many Whitworth residents are not happy about the proposed closure, with some worried that the services offered at the library will also be lost.

County Councillor Marcus Johnstone, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Cultural Services at Lancashire County Council, said: "These are very difficult decisions that have definitely been made with a heavy heart.

"They are unfortunately necessary because of unprecedented financial pressures caused by cuts to funding by central government and rising demand for our services, particularly those that care for the most vulnerable, such as adult social care.

"We are being forced to bring in a raft of measures to tackle a funding gap of £262 million which we need to save by 2020. Despite our financial situation, we are committed to continuing to provide 34 fully staffed libraries.

"We are running two consultation periods so that we can seek the views of Lancashire residents as widely as possible. The first, lasting four weeks, started on 4 January 2016. This will be followed by a more in depth consultation, which will last 12 weeks, after we've collated the results of the initial consultation. This should enable us to understand better how the remaining Lancashire libraries should be designed.

"We've fully retained our mobile library service."

It is not yet known when a decision on the closure will be made.