Permanent closure of Leicestershire library 'recommended'

Hannah Richardson
·3-min read
A county library faces permanent closure
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


A county library looks set to close to the public for good. Leicestershire County Council cabinet members are “recommended” to approve the permanent closure of Ibstock Library at a meeting later this week.

The library was run by a volunteer group, opening for seven hours a week over three days. However, group members told the council in September last year they could not continue in their roles.

The council launched a consultation into the future of the library, seeking expressions of interest from any groups which might want to step up and fill the void. It admitted at the time that, if no viable alternative could be found, the library may have to close.

READ MORE: Hundreds of Leicestershire residents fell victim to rogue traders last year - how to stay safe

The volunteers handed back their keys at the end of March with the library temporarily shutting to those who use it. A “mobile library” has been visiting Ibstock once a week instead, the authority said.

A council agenda now reveals no suitable replacements groups have been found to run the centre and the closure is likely to become permanent. Two expressions of interest had been received during the consultation.

However, one group had simply “intended to show support for the library, rather than proposing to run the library”. Their submission was subsequently withdrawn.

Ibstock Junior School
The library is based in Ibstock Junior School -Credit:Google

The other group’s offer to take on the role has now been rejected. Leicestershire County Council said there were “sustainability concerns” with the main worries being financial in nature – the group was not able to show sufficient income to cover the operating costs of the library.

Councillor Christine Radford, county council cabinet member for libraries, said: “While we did receive a registration of interest to run the library, after careful consideration of the proposal, we were unable to take it forward. Reluctantly and given that there isn’t a group able to take over the running of the library, we’re being asked to consider the proposal to close the library and put in place alternative library provision. We’ll discuss the proposal at our cabinet meeting on Friday, May 24.”

Coun Radford also expressed her gratitude to all those who volunteered in the library. She added: "I want to thank the trustees and volunteers at Ibstock for their sterling work in the past few years. They have done a fantastic job."

During the public consultation, residents were asked for their opinions on alternative forms of provision for the local areas. These included the book bus and the use of other libraries nearby. The council received 21 responses.

Most (55 per cent) said they used the library weekly. Half said they also used Coalville’s library which is the nearest alternative for the village, with 31 per cent saying they only used Ibstock.

When asked about what alternate provision they would use if the Ibstock service closed, three quarters said they would just go elsewhere. They were more unsure about the mobile offering, with 44 per cent saying they were undecided over whether they would use it or not, 33 per cent saying they would use it and 22 per cent saying they would not.

If cabinet members approve the permanent closure of the library, they are also recommended to give the official go ahead for the mobile service to continue. However, it would be a three-weekly service, rather than the current weekly visit. This would be reviewed in six months time to see if improvements could be made, the council said.

Coalville Library is able to cope with additional users, the authority added. It is open 56 hours a week and is around four miles from Ibstock, the council said.

The Ibstock Library space would be emptied, although Ibstock Junior School would continue to use the other half of the building. Future use of the empty space would be considered by the council in due course.

This article has been updated with a comment from Leicestershire County Council.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Are you ‘far-Right’? Take our quiz!

    We hear the term “far-Right” a lot these days. Or at least, we do if we get our news from the BBC, The Guardian or prominent Left-wing pundits. But what precisely do they mean by it? Unfortunately, they rarely say. They tend to just call a party, politician or group of voters “far-Right”, and leave it at that.

  • Trump Couldn’t Stop Gibbering in Front of Nation’s Biggest CEOs

    Former President Donald Trump left some of the country’s most powerful CEOs scratching their heads, cringing, or just outright laughing during a private meeting in the nation’s capital on Thursday.On MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Friday, CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin said he’d spoken to several CEOs who were at the gathering, including many who considered themselves pro-Trump. Among the attendees were Apple’s Tim Cook and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon.“They walked away from that meeting, I think, a bit

  • Vladimir Putin has had another bad week – and eyes are now on the Ukraine peace summit

    It has been another bad week for Vladimir Putin. In direct response to his unprovoked invasion, Ukraine has this week been able to sign a 10-year security pact with America - a bridge to its eventual membership of NATO, even if that is still a very, very long way away. EU accession talks for Ukraine will also begin before the end of the month.

  • A Russian tank stuck in a large crater became a sitting duck for Ukraine's drones, a video appears to show

    A video released by Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade appears to show a Russian tank falling into a crater and exploding under Ukrainian fire.

  • Trump boasts of cognitive test, then flubs doctor's name

    Donald Trump is so proud of a cognitive assessment he took while president that he boasted about it in a speech Saturday, while attacking what he claims is US President Joe Biden's lack of mental acuity.As part of his attack on what he says is the 81-year-old Biden's declining mental acuity, Trump told the laughing crowd in Detroit that the president had been lost while at the G7 in Italy, turning "to look at trees," while other world leaders were looking at a parachutist who'd just landed in an

  • France is on the brink of all-out civil conflict

    As some 500,000 Left-wingers marched in France’s cities yesterday, shouting anti-Fascist slogans, never had Lenin’s phrase seemed more apposite: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

  • Huge poll predicts every seat in Scotland in General Election

    A FRESH poll has predicted the result of every seat in the General Election, with the Tories set to retain just one seat in Scotland.

  • Labour to slap higher council tax on homes with big gardens, say Tories

    Home owners with gardens will pay higher council tax under plans being considered by Labour, it is claimed.

  • Britain still doesn’t have a clue about the scale of the disaster heading its way

    Reform overtaking the Tories according to one poll is undoubtedly a watershed moment in British politics. But Nigel Farage’s suggestion that “a vote for the Conservatives is now a vote for Labour” isn’t quite right. Because Reform simply doesn’t have the numbers to replace the Tories; only to destroy them, with no clear idea of what would follow. When the red mist clears, what we’re going to be left with is a future far worse than even the wettest of Conservatives could muster.

  • Shunned by West, Russian army deserters live in fear

    Russian officer Farkhad Ziganshin had prepared himself for a life of military service since a young age.- 'Live with dignity' -  Ziganshin went to a military boarding school at the age of 10 and graduated from a military academy that prepares Russian tank commanders. 

  • Sorry, Sunak – what Britain needs is a leader who’s a bit nuts

    Guess who’s to blame for our nation’s woes? According to a Gallup report it’s the “quiet quitters” who are costing the economy £257 billion in lost output. They’re the reason our country has plunged down the league table of the wealthiest nations. And the people at Gallup have figured out that this lack of productivity stems from a growing sense of sadness, stress and anger; all of which cause that loss of motivation. The polling company supposes that only 10 per cent of the workforce puts extra

  • Ukraine proves it can target the Russian air force's weakest link

    Ukraine appears to have hit on a strategy to strike back at the Russian jets lobbing glide bombs at its defenses.

  • Donald Trump's Fixation with Former “The Apprentice” Contestant Jennifer Murphy Explored in New Book (Exclusive)

    Murphy previously claimed that Trump had kissed her. Now, an upcoming book titled 'Apprentice in Wonderland' explores the pair's alleged bond at length

  • If the Right can’t unite, Starmer will change Britain beyond recognition

    If the polls are accurate, our great country is sleepwalking into a very dangerous future. In just 19 days’ time, the UK could be run by more than 500 Left-wing MPs. We are on the brink of a one-party state that will change our country for the worse.

  • How Ukraine’s surplus Western missiles humbled Putin’s billion dollar Crimea defences

    The night sky over Crimea flashed with explosions and tracer fire as the barrage of American-made missiles arrived and found their targets.

  • 'Admission Of Defeat': Laura Kuenssberg Calls Out 'Desperate' Tory Campaign Tactics

    The BBC presenter went straight for the jugular when she interviewed minister Mark Harper.

  • Fresh poll predicts Tories will win just 72 seats in next parliament

    Two polls published today spell bad news for Rishi Sunak, with one showing a drop of four points and the other that his party is on course to pick up just 72 seats. A poll by Savanta for The Sunday Telegraph showed the Tories down four points to just 21% of the vote - the lowest by that pollster since the dying days of Theresa May's premiership in early 2019. In a boost for Nigel Farage, the poll showed Reform UK up three points with 13% of the vote.

  • Swiss right-wing leader calls Ukraine summit an 'embarrassment'

    A leading Swiss right-wing nationalist panned a summit his country was hosting in a bid to pressure Russia to end its war on Ukraine as an "embarrassment", reflecting the view that the talks are damaging for Switzerland's traditional neutrality. The right-wing Swiss Peoples' Party (SVP), the biggest group in the lower house of parliament, says neutrality is an integral part of Switzerland's prosperity, and it has initiated a referendum to embed the principle in the constitution. Leading figures in the party have argued Switzerland should not have hosted this weekend's summit without Russia, and Nils Fiechter, chief of the SVP's youth wing, delivered a damning verdict on the talks to Russian broadcaster RT.

  • Letters: Once-loyal Tories wish to see Conservatism reborn after years of Blairite betrayal

    SIR – As a long-term member of the Conservative Party, I cannot wait to see the back of this totally incompetent Government. These Blairites must never be allowed to return. There are a few good MPs, like Penny Mordaunt, and I can only hope that they will join together with Nigel Farage to form a new, invigorated and competent Conservative Party. Meanwhile, I’ll vote for Reform UK. David Bowen Lyme Regis, Dorset

  • ‘Look my son in the eye and tell him why Labour will ruin his education’

    A military mother told Sir Keir Starmer to look her 10-year-old son in the eye and “explain why Labour is planning to ruin his education” by imposing VAT on private schools.