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Caerphilly County Borough Council spent nearly £27,000 last year refurbishing one of the libraries it is now proposing to close – although the building will stay open as a Welsh language childcare space.

The council received Welsh Government funding to develop a Flying Start childcare service in Pengam Library.

Pengam is one of ten libraries the council could axe in cost-cutting proposals which are currently out for public consultation.

It was shut for five months last year for refurbishments.

Ahead of its reopening in May 2024, a council spokesperson said that “whilst the library will reopen in a slightly reduced space, there will be no loss to any of the services we currently offer and will reopen in a modern, refurbished library setting”.

Publicly-available contract information shows the council awarded a tender worth £26,960 in February last year for the “Pengam Library fit-out”.

Asked why the council was proposing the potential closure of a library it had spent thousands on refurbishing a year earlier, Cllr Carol Andrews, the cabinet member responsible for libraries, said: “Pengam Library has been enhanced and expanded over the past 12 months thanks to a childcare grant from the Welsh Government to develop day nursery provision at the site.”

Cllr Andrews said the “newly-created childcare facility and library have been designed to complement each other in the way they provide services to the local community”.

The council’s review of the county borough’s library services is “subject to ongoing consultation”, and “no decision has been made about the future of the library provision at the Pengam site”, she added.

However, Cllr Andrews said the recent investment in the Pengam site “will help secure the future of the building with Welsh-medium childcare and family community provision in the heart of the village”.

A council spokesperson later confirmed the Pengam site would remain in use, even if the local authority decides to end the library service there.

The council’s ongoing library review is based on the notion the service must respond to changing user demand.

Rhymney Library, which reopened as a “hub” in early 2024 following its own refurbishment, is being held up as a template for the council’s planned changes.

The local authority claims fewer libraries, turned into hubs, can offer residents a wider variety of council and other organisations’ services.

It is currently proposing to shut down ten libraries across the county borough – those in Aberbargoed, Abercarn, Abertridwr, Bedwas, Deri, Llanbradach, Machen, Nelson, Oakdale and Pengam.

Originally, 12 libraries were put forward for closure but Newbridge and New Tredegar have been dropped from the list.

The council said it acted as an “anchor tenant” in buildings where its libraries in those places are housed, and if they were to close the knock-on effect would potentially “present more of a risk to those communities than the loss of a library alone”.

It has now proposed setting up two “tiers” of hubs, with sites in Tier Two – currently expected to be Newbridge and Ystrad Mynach – anticipated to have shorter opening hours than those in Tier One.

Rhymney, Bargoed, Blackwood, Caerphilly, and Risca, will all stay open as hubs.

New Tredegar Library would remain open but would be reviewed within three years, according to the council’s latest proposals.

A public consultation on the proposals runs until March 12, and to have your say, visit https://conversation.caerphilly.gov.uk/library-service-stage-2-consultation

A series of public information drop-in sessions will also be held at:

• Online, Tuesday March 11, 11am to 1pm.
• Machen Library, Tuesday February 18, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Online, Wednesday February 19, 2pm to 4pm;
• Nelson Library, Wednesday February 19, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Aberbargoed Library, Thursday February 20, 10.30am to 12.30pm;
• Llanbradach Library, Friday February 21, 10am to midday;
• Deri Library, Monday March 3, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Fleur de Lys Community Centre (for Pengam Library), Tuesday March 4, 2pm to 4pm;
• Bedwas Library, Tuesday March 4, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Abercarn Library, Wednesday March 5, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Abertridwr Library, Thursday March 6, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;
• Oakdale Library, Tuesday March 11, 4.30pm to 6.30pm;