Community campaign hopes to secure future of Worle Library

After North Somerset Council's original proposals offered closure in every scenario, a grassroots campaign to save Worle Library has succeeded in securing a Town Council debate for a community-run alternative.

A motion by Cllr Catherine Gibbons will be put to the Town Council on Monday, asking for support for a communityrun option in Worle.

North Somerset Council launched a 12-week consultation between July and October 2025 as it sought to make £433,000 of savings from library services.

The consultation attracted 4,912 responses.

While three options were presented, each involved the closure of Worle Library. By contrast, Winscombe was explicitly offered the possibility of a community-run library, while Pill has since been retained

as part of North Somerset's library service.

Campaigners have worked tirelessly to keep Worle Library open (Photo: Nick Smart)

Campaigners argued that Worle residents were denied a meaningful choice despite Worle Library being the busiest and most heavily used of the three threatened libraries.

Council consultation figures for 2024-25 show:

• Worle Library recorded 21,997 visits, compared with 10,426 at Winscombe and 5,840 at Pill.

• Worle had 2,535 registered users, compared with 1,704 at Winscombe and 872 at Pill.

• Worle lent 30,719 items, compared with 17,081 at Winscombe and 8,188 at Pill.

• Worle hosted 295 events with attendance of 2,745 people, compared with 33 events and 73 attendees at Winscombe.

• Computer use at Worle totalled 1,043 hours, compared with 148 hours at Winscombe and 142 hours at Pill.

Campaign organiser Nick Smart led a local campaign to challenge the proposed closure. Working with local volunteers, campaigners delivered 1,000 leaflets across Worle encouraging residents to take part in the consultation.

The campaign generated the highest level of public engagement of any library in North Somerset.

Around 20 per cent of consultation respondents declined to select any of the three options, reflecting concerns that every option resulted in the closure of Worle Library.

Campaigners also challenged the suggestion that residents could use The Campus library instead. Although located around 1.5 miles away, there is currently no bus service between Worle and The Campus.

The campaign has been supported by Weston-super-Mare MP Dan Aldridge and gained further momentum after Nick Smart addressed a North Somerset Council Cabinet meeting. Following that meeting, Worle Town Councillor Catherine Gibbons tabled a motion calling on Worle Town Council to work towards securing a community library for the village.

A suitable alternative venue has now been identified and discussions are continuing on how a community-run library could be established.

Local campaigner Nick Smart said;

"I am a product of Worle Library. As a child, it opened up worlds that I could never otherwise have accessed. The books I borrowed there helped shape my education, my love of learning and ultimately my career.

"I became a teacher and later an author, and I can draw a direct line from where I am today back to the opportunities that library gave me. Libraries are one of the few places that genuinely change lives and ask for nothing in return.

"That's why I feel so strongly about this campaign. The children growing up in Worle today deserve exactly the same opportunities that I had. They deserve a library that inspires curiosity, encourages ambition and helps them discover what they might become. We owe it to the next generation to make sure that opportunity remains available to them."

Cllr Catherine Gibbons said;

“On Monday 29th June I will be bringing a motion to Weston Town Council asking the Council to support, in principle, the creation of a community library in Worle.

I’m doing this because the case for a library in Worle has already been made — and made strongly.

When North Somerset Council launched its library consultation, residents were told that Worle Library would close under every option presented. Unsurprisingly, many people initially felt there was little point in taking part. If closure was already assumed, why share their views?

That’s why local campaigners, volunteers and residents worked so hard over many months to encourage people to have their say. We leafletted, spoke to residents, attended consultation events and made sure people understood that their voices still mattered.

The message was clear:

Peoplw want a library in Worle-

People need a library in Worle

This motion is not about starting the conversation again. It is about recognising everything local people have already told us and ensuring that Weston Town Council is ready to play its part in helping deliver a sustainable community library for Worle.”