Devon mobile libraries campaign ramps up

Mid Devon will write to Devon County Council to urge it to maintain the service

The campaign to save Devon’s mobile library service is ramping up ahead of a crucial meeting on its future.

Next week Mid Devon District Council will consider a motion urging it to write to the county council to express the importance of the service.

It has been put forward by Councillor Frank Letch (Lib Dem, Crediton Lawrence), who wants the county to ensure it has fully investigated all means of securing the future of the four mobile libraries before any decision to axe them.

Devon County Council’s cabinet will be deciding the service’s fate next month. It said in July that it would cost between £500,000 and £800,000 to replace the four vans, which it claims are nearing the end of their serviceable lives.

And councillors suggested that borrowing had also dropped, also making the service less economically viable.

Alternative services, such as its home library service which sees volunteers deliver books to homes, could help fill the void, the council had suggested.

However, a wave of public outcry, including a 9,000-strong petition signed by famous authors including Stephen Fry, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen, caused Devon’s cabinet to postpone a decision.

This week organisers of a campaign to save the service said the queen had sent a message of support.

Cabinet members had planned to discuss the issue again at this month’s meeting, however, with more than 25 public questions on the issue, it deferred the matter to the corporate infrastructure and regulatory services committee to investigate the concerns raised.

John Smith, vice chair of Coldridge Parish Council, said the mobile library service is vital for his community.

“We are out in the middle of nowhere, with no shop, no bus, and no pub, and with plenty of elderly people who are without transport,” he said.

“This means they can’t get to the nearest static library that is 12 miles away in Crediton, so the mobile library is a lifeline, including to myself.”

Cllr Smith said other counties with similar services had made them multi-purpose, with other service provided on board, or offering items such as reading glasses and hearing aid batteries for sale.

He added that applications could be made for grant funding for support from the Rural England Prosperity Fund or Levelling Up Fund, among others.

Some campaigners claim that usage is rising, and that Devon County Council had been comparing usage figures from 2013 – when there were eight mobile libraries – to now, when there are just four.

Angelina Baker said in a written question to the council that Torrington Mobile Library had seen user numbers rise from 858 in January this year to 956 by August.

A Devon County Council spokesperson said its cabinet would discuss the mobile libraries service at its next meeting on Wednesday 8 November and it would take into account recommendations from the scrutiny committee tasked with assessing its future viability.