Public response to North Somerset Libraries Consultation

(22 October 2025)

In response to North Somerset Library Services Consultation 2025, Friends of Pill Library is strongly opposed to the closure of Pill Library or its transfer to community management. However, we are committed to helping Pill Library thrive as a council-managed, community-supported service. Our reasons for this position are outlined below.

Pill is a small community with relatively few local services in comparison with its larger neighbours, such as Portishead. Within this context, Pill Library is a vital local resource, with a value that extends far beyond book lending alone. For instance, it hosts over 100 events each year, including Lego Club, Code Club, and Rhymetime — an average of two events per week, despite being open for only 2.5 days per week. This illustrates just how valued the library is, particularly by children and families. The library also offers free IT access to those without computers or internet at home, and provides a safe, warm space for vulnerable individuals. As North Somerset Library Services themselves recognise, libraries “bring people together, support learning, provide access to information, and open doors to opportunity.” Pill Library is a clear example of this in action.

Pill Library is of added importance to the community because of its location. It sits in Pill West, which is the most deprived area of North Somerset outside Weston-super-Mare, where residents may face significant challenges across income, employment, education, health, and disability. In such a context, libraries act as preventative services — supporting children, families, and vulnerable adults, while reducing demand (and costs) for social care. The Libraries Consultation is taking place precisely because North Somerset Council is facing enormous financial pressures due to rising social care costs, and has asked Library Services to find £433,000 in savings. Closing Pill Library would be short-sighted and counterproductive, as it would do very little - if anything - to reduce Council expenses.

The Pill Equality Impact Assessment shows that closure of the library would have a high impact on disabled people and women, with significant impacts on children and the elderly. Given that 26% of Pill Library users are over 75, and that children’s activities run most days it is open, the real impact on both the elderly and children should also be considered high in the assessment. Within this context, accessibility is a further issue. If Pill Library were to close, the nearest alternative would be Portishead Library, 4.6 miles away; a round trip by bus costs around £10 for a family and takes roughly an hour — an unaffordable and impractical journey for many residents. Mobile and outreach services would be unable to replicate what the library currently offers these user groups, for example in terms of events, or acting as a warm, safe space.

It should also be noted that closing Pill Library would run counter to national policy. The Government’s National Year of Reading 2026 is a recently launched initiative to improve literacy and tackle the reading crisis among young people. With £27.7 million being invested nationally in schools to improve reading and writing, shutting down public libraries that support literacy would be a false economy.

The financial case for the closure of Pill Library is weak. Pill Library costs around £28,000 per year to run. Closing it would not eliminate this cost, as £12,000 would still be required annually for outreach and mobile library services, meaning the true saving from closure would be only £16,000 per year. By comparison, North Somerset Library Services budget is currently £2.25 million, and even after the cuts they are being asked to make by the Council, it will still be over £1.8 million. How can closing a library for such a relatively small amount be justified? It is entirely disproportionate to the scale of loss for the local community.

We argue that Pill Library represents value for money. Currently, only 2% of North Somerset Library’s budget is spent on Pill, which equates to £7.90 per resident. In comparison, spend per head is £13.68 in Weston-super-Mare, £10.74 in Nailsea, and £10.49 in Yatton (despite the latter two areas having significantly lower need). Reducing staffed hours in Portishead, Clevedon and Yatton (as an example) for just an additional 1.5 hours per week each on top of what is planned under Option A, would save £14,400 (and would not result in extra hours of closure, since these libraries all benefit from extended access). Measures along these lines would be more equitable than closing Pill Library.

Looking ahead, the case for maintaining and strengthening Pill Library becomes even clearer. With housing developments planned in the area, Pill’s population is set to increase significantly. Demand for library services will only grow. According to Government guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, councils should plan for cultural and library infrastructure alongside housing growth. Section 106 developer contributions could be used to fund improvements or even a new library, co-located with other community services, creating efficiencies and long-term savings in future – but this can only happen if Council leaders have the foresight to retain Pill Library during this period of expenditure cuts.

While North Somerset Library Services has suggested community management as an alternative to closure, this is not a realistic solution for Pill. Libraries deliver a range of complex services and should be managed by professionals. Furthermore, although there are examples of community-managed libraries across the country, many have struggled or failed to remain sustainable in the long term. In Pill, which is a small community, volunteering capacity is already stretched across numerous local groups. While there is enthusiasm to support the library, there is limited capacity to manage it outright. A community-managed option, therefore, risks undermining the long-term sustainability of this vital service.

It should also be noted that community management would not deliver value for money to residents. Parish Council contributions would likely be required (increasing the precept in an area of income deprivation), while North Somerset Library Services would still incur costs for weekly officer support, volunteer training, and stock management. A far better solution would be to retain Pill Library as a council-managed, community-supported service. The Friends of Pill Library group has been established precisely to strengthen the library in this way. We can enhance value-for-money by fundraising, organising events, promoting services, and even supporting additional opening hours. This is entirely consistent with Government guidance, which recommends exploring ways to extend opening hours with volunteer support before considering a move to community management.

In summary, closing or transferring Pill Library would save little, cost much, and contradict both government policy and community need. A professionally run, council-managed library — supported by the Friends of Pill Library — offers the best way to safeguard this vital service and strengthen it for the future.

20 reasons Pill Library should remain open and council-managed 

(19 October 2025)

1. Pill Library offers a safe, warm, and welcoming space — somewhere to read, meet others, and feel part of the community.

2. It provides free computer and internet access for people who can’t afford it — essential for job applications, benefits, and staying connected.

3. As a small community, we already have limited resources - the library is a much-needed service that brings enormous social value.

4. Pill Library is good value for money, costing only £28,000 per year to run. (North Somerset Library Services’ budget is currently £2.25 million, and even after the savings they are being asked to make, their spend will be over £1.8 million.)

5. If Pill Library is closed, North Somerset Library Services will have to spend approximately £12,000 per year on additional outreach services. That means closing the library would only save £16,000 per year – a tiny amount compared with the loss to our community.

6. If Pill Library closes, the nearest alternative library is in Portishead, 4.6 miles away. A round trip to Portishead on the bus costs a family £10 and takes about an hour: using a library would become unaffordable or impractical for many in the village.

7. Pill Library is well-used and much-loved by children: the library hosts over 100 events each year, the majority of which are children’s events such as Rhymetime, Lego Club and Code Club.

8. Older residents would lose vital social contact if the library were to close. A quarter of Pill Library users are aged over 75, and it provides regular community and social connection, alongside a wide selection of large print and audio books.

9. The Impact Assessment for Pill Library shows that disabled people and women would be highly negatively impacted by its closure.

10. Libraries are social levellers, and Pill Library is situated in an area considered high need.

11. Library outreach services such as a mobile library cannot adequately compensate for the services currently offered, such as children’s events and acting as a safe, warm space.

12. In recent years there has been a sharp decline in reading, especially among young people. To tackle this, the Government has launched a National Year of Reading 2026 and is investing £27.7 million to improve reading and writing. At such a time, it’s a false economy to close local public libraries such as Pill, which do so much to support learning and literacy.

13. Closure of Pill Library should not even be considered in an area of high need and during a period of rapidly declining literacy, especially when library spend per head is greater in other areas of North Somerset where there is less need.

14. If proposed housing developments go ahead, the population of Pill will increase significantly, and need for a library will also increase.

15. Government guidance says councils should consider a community’s future needs and plan for library provision alongside new housing. If housing developments in Pill proceed, Section 106 funding could help create a modern, co-located library for Pill, bringing savings and efficiency in future.

16. Transferring Pill Library into community management simply isn’t realistic. Pill has a small population and many existing volunteer groups — people want to help, but there’s no capacity to run the library outright.

17. Community management of Pill Library would not deliver value for money to the local community. It is likely that residents would have to pay more to the Parish Council to fund the library and would pay no less in Council Tax.

18. According to government guidance, councils should consider alternative delivery methods of community support before deciding to transfer a library to community-management. Friends of Pill Library can support the effective and efficient running of Pill Library by North Somerset Council, helping to increase value for money through organising events, fundraising, promoting services.

19. Savings and efficiencies can be made without closing or transferring the Pill Library to community management, for instance by looking more equitably at staffed opening hours in libraries across North Somerset.

20. Pill Library should remain council-managed and community-supported — not closed, not handed over. It’s small, it’s vital, and it makes a big difference.