ANGRY campaigners are gearing up for the final round of fights against library cuts that they fear are already a done deal.

Gloucestershire County Council cabinet will review a new library strategy tomorrow (Thursday, April 5) and make their final decision on whether Lechlade library should be handed over to volunteers.

But campaigners say the fate of the town’s facility has already been decided and believe it will become a community library despite opposition from residents.

Last month a glimmer of hope was given when neighbouring Fairford town council agreed to consider transferring GCC library funding to support a Lechlade facility.

And at little or no extra cost to GCC, members of Lechlade library working group believed this was the perfect solution for keeping a county-run service in the town, while still making the required savings for the council.

However, campaigners have learned from county and district councillor Ray Theodoulou that council officers have already decided they are "not minded to concede" to the proposals before the plans have been considered by cabinet.

Lechlade and district councillor Sue Coakley said: "I'm amazed that GCC could reject, out of hand, a request endorsed by two town councils that achieves the targeted savings.

"The consultation has clearly demonstrated a strong demand to retain a county library in Lechlade - why spend £60,000 on the process if they are simply going to ignore the results?"

She said that members of the working group would put forward their arguments at a cabinet meeting to be held tomorrow (Thursday, April 5), and she remained optimistic that the cabinet would see the benefits to the county and local communities in keeping an additional library open.

A GCC spokesman said no decision had yet been made on Gloucestershire libraries and cabinet would consider all of the consultation responses closely before making their final decision at the meeting on Thursday.

But Stewart Bruce, chairman of Lechlade and district civic society, said the GCC library consultation process was a "sham" and that the cabinet meeting was just an opportunity to rubber stamp “fait accompli” plans.

If the plan is rejected at cabinet, the town will be forced to run the library on volunteers or face closing completely.