AN ASSURANCE has been given that there are no plans to shut Launceston Library at the present time.

Cornwall Councillor Phil Parsons has been given this pledge after raising the subject of rumours of closure with Cllr Mrs Joan Symons, the Cabinet member for Cornwall First.

Other services may, in future, be provided at the library to help ensure its long term future.

In his question at County Hall, Cllr Parsons asked: "Can Mrs Symons respond to the rumours being spread within my town of Launceston by Lib Dems that the library is about to shut and would she be in agreement with me that we, as Cornwall Council, need to maximise the way we deliver services for the Cornish people which may mean joining services together in one building, which will help to maintain one or more service provisions for the long term future?"

Mrs Symons, in a statement, indicated that, in common with other services, libraries anticipated "a very challenging budget.

"In the budget papers before you, the savings target for the service is in the region of £1-million by the end of 2012/13; this represents approximately 23 per cent of the annual budget. The most significant 'fixed' cost for the service is staffing at around 80 per cent of the whole service cost."

She said the aspiration and working assumption was that the required savings for the first year could be delivered without closing any of the 29 static branch libraries — allowing the member group time to put forward options for the future of the service in order to make and "implement the rest of the savings required for the second year (2012/13) and beyond.

"The council has a statutory duty to provide a 'comprehensive and efficient' library service and is, therefore, looking at all possible options available to accomplish this duty and achieve a stable and sustainable service."