LIVEWIRE met Culcheth residents for a second time last night, Wednesday, to discuss the future of the village’s library.

The first meeting between residents and the company on September 7 left many people feeling upset and angered by LiveWire’s proposals to close Culcheth Library.

Cllr Matt Smith (LAB - Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft), who chaired the event, said: “I spoke to a number of residents after the first meeting who has some frustration with how things went. There was a lot of tension in the community.”

At last night’s meeting Emma Hutchinson, managing director of LiveWire, told residents that book issues declined by 45 per cent in Culcheth between 2010 and 2016.

Figures also revealed computers at the library are only used during 18 per cent of the opening hours.

The running costs of Culcheth library are currently £44,130 per year, making the cost per visit £1.50.

Ms Hutchinson said: “We are not saying we would like to replace libraries with lending lockers – we realise that libraries can’t be replaced with lockers. We are trying to respond to those residents who said they work during library opening hours.”

She put forward a number of alternative proposals for Culcheth including a community asset transfer which would hand over the library to be managed by a community group.

Other options include a library managed by LiveWire volunteers but funded by a parish precept – the money the parish council receives from residents’ council tax contributions.

A lending library within the Culcheth High School site could also be considered as well as the possibility of an organisation or business joining the library at its current site to help fund the upkeep of the building.

However, the covenant on the building means Warrington Borough Council can only use it as a library or as a place to deliver any other services it is legally required to provide.

Residents put forward their concerns, including problems reaching a library at the school or in Birchwood on public transport.

LiveWire’s plan to install 16 lending lockers at a cost of £96,000 per year was also criticised.

Audience members also asked about the cost of maintaining library buildings that are in poor condition if a community asset transfer was to take place, but LiveWire confirmed Culcheth Library is owned by Warrington Borough Council and leased by the company.

Cllr Matt Smith said: “We have had a lot of conversations with LiveWire. One thing that has come across, and I mean this genuinely, is that I don’t think anyone wasn’t to close the library services.

“The discussions centre around finding alternative solutions.”