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A fifth of libraries across Yorkshire face the axe with Bradford the latest city in the region to announce closures.
The Yorkshire Post reports Bradford City Council announced plans to close libraries in Addingham, Denholme, Heaton, Wilsden and Wrose in a bid to save £30m. If the plans go ahead, one in six of the district's 31 libraries will shut by the end of the year.
Elizabeth Hellmich, of the Heaton Township Association, told the newspaper: “It’s going to be a huge loss for our village. They have cut the opening hours back so much and now they say it is underused. But they don’t realise what a big impact it will have. You keep taking facilities away from Heaton and in the end it won’t be a village any more.”
A total of 65 libraries across Yorkshire are under threat, a fifth of the region's total. However, there was respite for Doncaster yesterday when the council announced 14 libraries earmarked for closure would remain open for another year to allow further consultation.
The town's mayor, Peter Davies, said: "It was never my wish to close libraries in Doncaster, but we are in a very difficult position with the huge budget cuts imposed on us by Government. I have adjusted my budget proposals to allow for more consultation and agree the best way forward."