There will be an opportunity for Tenby residents to have their say on the future of the town’s library, as Pembrokeshire County Council carries out a series of consultations across the county this month, in the context of what they call a ‘challenging medium-term financial outlook’ for the Local Authority.

At a recent meeting of Tenby Town Council, the clerk Andrew Davies told members that he had received correspondence from PCC’s Head of Leisure and Cultural Services Mike Cavanagh regarding library provision.

Mr Cavanagh was making councillors aware that PCC were embarking on a public engagement exercise, as part of its ‘Library Needs Assessment’.

“The aim of the exercise is to ensure that we have a full and up-to-date understanding of the needs of Pembrokeshire residents to help inform changes to the Library Service,” stated Mr Cavanagh.

“We will also take the opportunity to get feedback on some possible options, as well as inviting ideas that people may have for how we could deliver the service at reduced cost.

“The engagement will run through until August 5.

“We will then consider the findings of the engagement exercise before putting together specific options which will be the subject of a formal consultation exercise later in this calendar year.”

Last year, Tenby councillors reiterated the importance of the town’s library, labelling it an ‘essential part’ of the community after Pembrokeshire County Council threatened to reduce the facility’s opening hours due to budget cuts.

At the time the Town Council agreed to help with a ‘financial contribution’ towards the library to maintain service at current levels, with members, in principal, agreeing to assist with funding of £13,000 annually for the next five years, which they said would provide security for existing service provision and staff.

At the recent meeting, The Clerk confirmed that the Town Council had now signed the agreement to fund PCC to maintain existing hours at the Library for the next 5 years and are paying annually by instalments.

Cllr Laurence Blackhall told fellow members that he’d had an initial conversation with the Town Council Community Engagement officer about the library and the whole site, and were now working on ‘some ideas’.

A public meeting, open to anyone who wishes to attend will be held at the Greenhill Centre within the Tenby Library grounds on Tuesday, June 25 between 6.30 and 8.30pm.