THE future of Llanidloes library has been given some security after the town council voted to house it in the Town Hall.

The vote, which passed with six votes out of nine at the town council’s meeting on Monday, comes as Powys County Council aims to make a 50 per cent saving on 11 libraries across the county, including Llanidloes.

PCC has been granted free use of a space in the Town Hall to move the library into, in exchange for a guarantee that it will remain open for five years.

At the meeting, PCC’s service manager for leisure and recreation, Mr Stuart Mackintosh, said that if town councils were unable to meet 50 per cent of their libraries’ running costs, closure would be the next option.

He added: “The budget reduction will happen. 

“The money will be removed from the library service budget. It is going to happen.”

Councillors voiced their concerns about being pushed for a decision, with some saying that they would rather be given time to look at the proposal alongside cost projections for other services before deciding if they could afford to offer the room to PCC for free.

Cllr Edward Breeze said: “It seems like a ransom. I think we are being too hasty.”

But Llanidloes Mayor Cllr Phyl Davies argued that if they did not act quickly it could be too late, though he also criticised PCC’s handling of the situation.

He said: “Powys don’t know their backside from their elbow. If we say yes now it’s first come first served.

“We have had all of the information that we are going to get off Powys, which is nothing. We need to make a decision.

“There are a lot of people in this community that need that facility. The library is a service that is worth fighting for. We are going to lose just over £3,000 income a year, for a service that is well-used by a lot of people.”