Council could axe 12 libraries across borough as part of ‘strategic vision’

Caerphilly County Borough Council is hoping to ‘maximise resources’ by centralising libraries and closing those in smaller towns and villages.

The council is set to open a public consultation on the future of 12 libraries across the borough, as it looks to make £45 million in savings over the next two years.

Currently, the borough has 18 libraries, one of the highest numbers of any area in Wales.

It says by closing those smaller libraries down, it can “maximise resources”, and “improve financial sustainability for the council and library service”.

By doing so, it would make a saving of around £600,000.

Other benefits listed by the council as part of the ‘strategic vision’ include an end to lunchtime closing, no single staffing, and an increase to town centre footfall.

The places in which libraries are under review are:

• New Tredegar
• Deri
• Aberbargoed
• Pengam
• Oakdale
• Newbridge
• Nelson
• Abercarn
• Abertridwr
• Bedwas
• Llanbradach
• Machen

The council says closing these would allow it to increase its focus on the six remaining libraries, which would be:

• Rhymney
• Bargoed
• Blackwood
• Ystrad Mynach
• Caerphilly
• Risca

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who is the council’s deputy leader, claims this strategy would build on the success of the ‘hub model’ at Rhymney Library, which has already seen an “exponential increase in footfall”.

He went on to say how the motivation for potentially moving to a ‘hub’ model isn’t solely financial, insisting the transition has already provided “real benefits” to residents in other areas.

The cabinet member with responsibility for library services, Cllr Carol Andrews, said: “When exploring the future vision for the library service, it was clear that they have already become so much more than a place to borrow and read books.

“We have seen how the evolution of digital services has enhanced the offer to become far more inclusive. We want to take that one step further and create a hub environment that acts as a one-stop-shop for residents. A warm and welcoming space that provides ready access to services in a town centre location with easy access to local transport links.

“It is clear that the financial pressures have led us to consider the options to future-proof the service and that includes the potential rationalisation of the amount of sites that we have. That is why it is really important for us to seek a broad range of views on the proposal, so we are able to gain a greater understanding of the needs of our residents.”

The cabinet will meet to consider agreeing to the consultation on Wednesday October 16. If approved, it will be open to the public from Tuesday October 22.