A PLANNED replacement library service for Abbeyview has been blasted by local SNP councillor Brian Goodall.

Plans for the library were discussed at a meeting of Fife Council’s executive committee on Tuesday.

Abbeyview is due to lose its library in May next year and ways of preserving some kind of book lending facility in the area have been looked at.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the committee agreed to interim arrangements being put in place to accommodate a community book borrowing service in Abbeyview Local Office until a wider review of community facilities are progressed.

The agreement came after Cllr Goodall, who is leader of the council’s SNP group, put forward an unsuccessful amendment on behalf of the SNP against recommendations to push ahead with the withdrawal of the current library service in the area.

The SNP suggestion would have seen funding allocated to Fife Cultural Trust to save Abbeyview Library.

Cllr Goodall described the outcome as “extremely disappointing” and said: “The very limited alternative put forward stops well short of the full library service provision this community needs and deserves.

“It is extremely disappointing that our plans to save the library have been continually voted down, but the SNP group remains committed to seeing the full range of library services continued.

“To have our support for the community described as ‘opportunistic and populist’ by members of the Labour administration is quite frankly absurd.

"We have been consistent in our attempts to stand up for Abbeyview, with money to save the library in our proposed budget this year and the same commitment will be in our manifesto for people to have their say at the local elections next year.”

A self-service book borrowing service is now planned to be introduced in Abbeyview Local Office, which is open two days a week, with all other library services withdrawn from Abbeyview.

Fellow SNP councillor Fay Sinclair said they would continue to fight for the area’s library provision. 

“Abbeyview has suffered cut after cut from this administration, with the loss of a very popular primary school and now the local library,” she added.

“The alternative provision of a self-service bookshelf for a few hours a week in the Local Office which has already had its opening hours reduced is simply not good enough.”

Council leader and chairman of the executive committee, Cllr David Ross, said a range of proposals had been received for alternatively run libraries from the affected communities across Fife. 

“We’re having to make very difficult decisions as a result of our financial challenges and the review of Fife’s libraries has been an emotive and difficult one for everyone,” he said.

“We have supported the communities that have expressed an interest to provide an alternative library service in their area and I’m pleased that we have had positive engagement from community groups, so are now in the position where it looks like at least half of the communities affected by the library closures will have alternative library provision available to them, as well as the continuation of mobile library services across Fife. 

“When the changes are fully implemented we will still maintain one of the largest statutory library networks in Scotland with 35 libraries and two mobile libraries.” 

Cllr Ross added that the continued library provision in Abbeyview would complement the current initiatives for the area’s wider regeneration.