Anger at plans to move Shropshire library
A market town is being "singled out" by council chiefs planning to close its library and move it to a nearby school, it has been claimed.
Residents in Church Stretton have hit out at plans to move the town's library from its current town centre location to Church Stretton School almost half a mile away.
Frank Hay, who was one of 200 people who turned out at a public meeting at the Silvester Horne Institute last night to show their support for the under-threat library, hit out at claims by Shropshire Council officer Michael Lewis that £1.3 million cuts – equating to a third of the county's library staff – would have to be made.
He said: "Why are we being singled out being cut by 100 per cent if you have to make a cut of a third? If we only had to cut costs by a third we could probably easily come up with solutions."
Mr Lewis said moving Church Stretton Library to the school would save £13,000 in building costs and £35,000 in staffing costs. He said he was determined to keep all 22 of the county's libraries open.
