Bamber Bridge’s library is going to be reopened as a county council-run library.
Previous proposals for the 1st Bamber Bridge Scouts to take on the building and also operate a community library have been scrapped.
Lancashire County Council says the Station Road building will remain a county council building and be reopened in the near future.
In May last year it was announced following its closure the library would be transferred to the Scouts for use as a new headquarters.
However a report to the county council’s cabinet said the reopening of the library, a core election pledge made by the Conservative administration, was not ‘progressing at the pace they hoped for’ and the community library was ‘no longer viable.’
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Cabinet member for community and culture services county councillor Peter Buckley said: “Libraries are a vital service at the heart of our communities, offering free access to books and information for leisure and learning, as well as being a place where communities can get together.
“We’re committed to delivering our plans to reopen as many as possible of the libraries which were closed and have identified the need for a library to serve the community of Bamber Bridge.
“Bamber Bridge library was closed nearly two years ago and I’m glad that cabinet’s decision will mean the restoration of this vital service, but at the same time regret that we have not been able to finalise the asset transfer proposal with 1st Bamber Bridge Scouts.
“I’d like to thank them for their proposal, and particularly their time as a volunteer-run group, however when considering the transfer of publicly-owned assets we have a duty to ensure as far as possible the robustness and sustainability of those proposals.”
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The library has been closed since September 2016.
No firm reopening date has been given for Bamber Bridge library.
Did you use Bamber Bridge library? What do you think about the decision? Let us know in the comments below