Leicestershire county council upbeat over library handover

The county council has to save a further £50m in the next five years

Community groups could keep open every library in Leicestershire threatened with closure, officials have said.

An appeal for volunteers to run 36 branches was made after the county council said it could not longer afford to staff them.

Friday was the deadline to register an interest in taking over one of 12 unallocated libraries.

The council expects every branch to have an offer and said enough groups may have come forward to keep all open.

The council has said it needs to make cuts of more than £86m by 2019 from a current budget of £348m.

Last month the authority said it was set to reach agreement with 24 groups to take over libraries and urged others to come forward for the remainder.

The county council will offer advice to any groups that are interested.

Nigel Thomas, head of libraries, said: "We can't say precisely how many have submitted but we are confident most of them in fact have.

"A registration of interest will then lead to a business plan where we look more closely at what is in place.

"Any branches which have no interest will be looked at later this year and a decision, which could be but is not necessarily closure, will be taken."

The first library to be handed over, Barrow-upon-Soar, will open with volunteers at the end of July.