North Somerset Council plans further cuts to library funding amid budget pressures
Councillors are set to vote on additional £50k cut to library funding
North Somerset Council is planning to cut another £50k from its funding on libraries — before decisions have even been finalised about which libraries to close following a previous funding cut.
Last year, the council voted to cut its spending on libraries by a fifth (£433k), putting three libraries at risk of closure. Weston-super-Mare’s MP, schoolchildren, a local author, and even a retired former leader of the council have been among those who have made passionate pleas to keep their libraries open.
The council published its plans for which libraries to close and which to keep open just two weeks ago. But now — before councillors have even approved those recommendations — they are already being asked to agree to cut another £50k from spending on libraries in future.
It is part of a last minute effort to balance the council’s budget and avoid going bust. The government has given North Somerset permission for an exceptional 8.99% council tax rise but that still leaves the cash-strapped local authority £2.4m short of having a balanced budget for 2026/27. Local authorities are required by law to set a balanced budget but top councillors have warned that rising social care costs at the same time as a major cut in government funding has left it with few options.
Now a host of ideas have been quickly put together to save £2.68m next year. Included with them is the proposal to save £50k by cutting library opening hours even further, although this cut would actually happen in the year after next (2027/28) when an even bigger budget gap is projected due to government funding falling even more.
A North Somerset Council spokesperson said: “Additional savings across the council will be needed beyond those already identified so that we can set a balanced budget for future financial years.”
“This is an additional proposed saving for the service and we’ll be working during the year ahead to identify how we can meet any required reduction in budget. Any saving will consider community needs and be subject to an Equalities Impact Assessment to ensure that any impacts on the community are fully understood and minimised.”
Councillors are set to vote on approving the budget plans, including the future cut to libraries and the council tax increase, at a full council meeting on February 24. Later at that same meeting, councillors will be asked to approve the recommendations for which libraries to close in response to the cut to libraries they made last year.
It is proposed to close Worle Library on September 7 and Winscombe Library at the end of March 2027, unless a community group takes over running it. Pill Library had also been under threat but following a public consultation which over 5,000 people responded to, it is now proposed to keep it open by reducing other libraries’ opening hours by more instead.
The full council will meet in Weston-super-Mare Town Hall at 6pm on February 24.