Cutting town's library hours would be 'massive blow'

Campaigners are objecting to proposals to cut library opening times in part of Devon from 21 hours a week to six.

The county council wants to reduce Northam Library's hours to two mornings a week.

Torridge district councillor Peter Hames said it could mean a year of "reduced reading" rather than the 2026 National Year of Reading, a UK-wide initiative. A Northam Library action group said it would be "a massive blow". They have until 22 February to have their say.

Torridge district councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, also Devon County Council's cabinet member for libraries, said there were no plans to close any libraries and the hours in the consultation related only to statutory staffed hours.

Libraries Unlimited, the charity that operates the 50 public libraries in Devon under contract for Devon County Council, says it has been using its charity reserves to meet a £1m funding gap each year and needs to save money.

Cottle-Hunkin said libraries could be open "more flexibly" with options including shared staffing, volunteers, community‑led models, local partnerships, and "open access" technology, which allows extended access to the building.

Hames said libraries were vital to give children early reading experiences and books were essential to help with literacy, empathy, understanding, cognitive and emotional growth and "crucially, employability in later life".

"It's important we increase opportunity for children to use their local library in order to experience the joy and value of reading," he said.

He told a council meeting libraries were also a lifeline for older people as they offered clubs as well as warm spaces, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We should not forget that Torridge has one of the worst levels of deprivation in the UK and libraries are essential for those who cannot afford books or their social or family circumstances mean they find it difficult to access books."

A Northam Library action group said such cuts would be "a massive blow to the community, its social activities and the many groups that use the library, going way beyond the amount of books borrowed".

However, Cottle-Hunkin warned: "To carry on as we are with no flexibility would result in unimaginably drastic measures."

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