'Visit our library before deciding on its fate'

Campaigners fighting to save their under-threat library have urged councillors deciding on its future to pay the facility a visit and see it in use.

Woodston Library in Peterborough is at risk of closure after the city council announced budget cuts, including a proposal to reduce the current 10 static libraries it looks after down to three.

Jennie Story, from Friends of Woodston Library, invited all 60 city councillors and MPs to attend on Saturday, to see how "important and needed the venue is".

Previously, Peterborough City Council said: "The library forms part of our wider locality asset review which is currently ongoing."

Last month, Peterborough City Council asked residents for their views on draft plans to help balance the budget in the next three financial years.

The authority predicts a £23m budget gap for 2025 to 2026, because of increased demand for services and rising costs.

Members of a joint scrutiny committee will consider the budget and give their views at a meeting on 29 January.

Ms Storey said: "We get several community groups - children, pensioners and everybody in between using this facility.

"We believe the majority of councillors who will be voting on the library have not been here to see how it is enjoyed.

"We thought this is a sensible approach, rather than sit in the council chamber and decide the library's fate.

"We have been told by people attending these groups it is boosting their mental health. Some of them care for partners with dementia and this is a respite for them.

"So I would say, come and have a glimpse of what the library provides. It is too important to close."

Last month, the group's petition with more than 600 signatures calling for the library to be saved was "noted" by the council.

The group was given the proposal for the facility to be community-run for a year to test its future viability, but Friends of Woodston Library said it did not have the funds to do this.

Ms Storey said the group wanted councillors to visit the 73-year-old venue and "understand its importance before making a decision".

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.