Lampeter Town Council has vowed to fight the relocation of the town’s library following a well-attended public meeting and called on residents to “work as a united front.”

Ceredigion County Council will consult on plans to co-locate libraries into existing council buildings across the county after a saving was identified in this year’s budget, with the authority trying to plug a black-hole at the heart of its finances.

While a council report said the plan to re-locate libraries would “free up space” and would provide a “continued sustainable library provision with reduced costs”, as the Cambrian News reported, Lampeter county councillor Ann Bowen Morgan said there were “real concerns” over the plan.

In Lampeter, the plan is to relocate the library an eight-minute walk away into the town’s Wellbeing Centre, but petitions have already been launched, collecting hundreds of signatures calling for the library to stay put in its current location near the town’s Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Cllr Bowen Morgan, said: “We’re not happy at all with the idea in Lampeter.

“The library is in the heart of the town with a large car park.

“People come to town to shop and go to the library.

“If it’s moved fewer people will use it and people may be deterred from coming into town altogether.

“Moving it downhill to the Wellbeing Centre would make it difficult for those with accessibility needs to walk there and carry books back.

“The library itself would be halved in size.

“The current library is purpose-built and less than 30 years old. If the library is moved it’ll be another empty building.

“I recognise that we need to make savings but I don’t see the savings as worth it.”

Following the public meeting held in Victoria Hall on 16 May Lampeter Town Council said it “will now be taking things forward to ensure the voice of the town is heard.”

“Over the coming weeks we will be urging residents to work with us to identify ways of making a case for keeping the library building in its current location and how costs can be saved to make this viable,” the council said on Facebook.

“Under the leadership of the Town Council and Cllr Ann Bowen Morgan, Vice Chair of Ceredigion County Council we can work with the town.

“It’s important that we work as a united front - whether we are parts of other groups, businesses or individuals.”