Councillor takes to the airwaves to call for the future of Barwell Library to be guaranteed!

A COUNCILLOR has taken to the region's airwaves to call for the future of a village library to be secured.

Mathew Hulbert, who represents Barwell for the Lib Dems on Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, appeared on this week's edition of The Sunday Politics in the East Midlands on BBC One.

A decision is due to be taken soon, by Conservative-controlled Leicestershire County Council, about the future of many local libraries.

Councillor Hulbert said on the programme, ''Leicestershire County Council have effectively said, 'if voluntary groups don't come forward we will close your library.'''

He described it as ''fantastic'' that such a group has come forward in Barwell, but remains concerned that some services currently provided by the County Council-funded, professional librarian-staffed library will be reduced or ended altogether.

Councillor Hulbert says, ''I was pleased to be able to raise the vitally important issue of the future of our library in Barwell at a regional level.

''Our library is well-used and much loved and its future has been under a cloud of uncertainty for far too long now.

I call on the Tories at County Hall to withdraw their planned threat of closure, keep it Council-funded and staffed by the well-liked professional librarians.''

''If a decision is taken to hand it over to volunteers to run then I call on LCC to give a guarantee that none of the current services provided by the library will be reduced or ended.''