A scout group in South Ribble still look as though they will get first dibs on a former library.

Lancashire County Council is preparing to honour a deal struck with the 1st Bamber Bridge Scouts.

Advertisements

The Tory administration had promised to reopen all libraries after taking power in May.

Bamber Bridge library, which closed in September last year, is due to become the headquarters for the scouting group.

New plans for the building include establishing an independent community library alongside the the Scouts using the building.

Read more: What’s being scrapped with Preston bin changes

It would also be available to the wider community for activities such as meetings and training during the day.

Cabinet member for community and cultural services county councillor Peter Buckley said: “Libraries are a vital service at the heart of our communities, offering free access to books and information, as well as being a place where communities can get together.

“We have committed to reopening libraries where they’ve been closed, whether they’re run by the county council or independently by community organisations, and we are grateful to all the voluntary and community groups who have shown such commitment to the library service and its future development.

“If agreed in principle and the project progresses, we will support Bamber Bridge Scouts to establish the community library, and we’ll continue to work with them to progress the asset transfer so that people have access to another library complementing the service operated by the county council.”

Read more: Run Preston a step closer to being continued

A financial package of £5,000 from the county council to get the library operational is still on the table, with an annual grant of £1,000 to the Scouts for operating the library.

Transfer of the library building would take place under the council’s Community Asset Transfer policy.

The proposals for the library are to be discussed by the county council’s cabinet on Thursday 12 October.

What do you think about the deal? Let us know in the comments below