THREE facilities in a North Somerset village are being looked at to possibly site a library.

THREE facilities in a North Somerset village are being looked at to possibly site a library.

Backwell School, Backwell Leisure Centre and St Andrew's Church are all being considered as places to house books and computers.

The news comes after people in the district were told libraries in Backwell, Congresbury and Banwell will be closed as part of a cost-cutting review.

But then library users were dealt a fresh blow as North Somerset Council bosses announced they planned to slash the number of mobile service stops.

Authority chiefs announced proposals to halve the mobile library service from two vehicles to one, and significantly cut the number of stops as well as minimise frequency.

The plan would contribute �70,000 to the overall library service review's �100,000 savings and go some way to helping plug the council's �18million funding gap.

Following North Somerset Council's decision to shut Backwell library, the authority's community services policy and scrutiny panel has been examining whether there is somewhere to locate a permanent library service in the village or whether a mobile service would be the better option.

On Friday, members paid a visit to Backwell School and the leisure centre in Farleigh Road.

North Somerset councillor Karen Barclay said: "At the moment the most likely venue is the leisure centre, although we haven't visited the church yet.

"The leisure centre is in a position to offer a place for computers and an information desk, with perhaps the mobile library with books parked outside.

"There is also a squash court which could be converted but that would obviously cost a lot more."

However, the committee did not think the school would be a good idea. Members of the public would have to walk through the school to get to the library, as there is no external door straight to the facility, which raised major security concerns.

Once all three sites have been visited, reports will be written up on each one, so they can be considered on their individual merits.

Cllr Barclay added: "I am pleased other options are being considered in order for a static premise to be kept in the village.

"If we run something in conjunction with a mobile library, we would want it to visit regularly on a weekly basis, not every three weeks.

"At the moment, a library for Backwell is looking very encouraging.