Bradford Council's Executive have approved plans to cut the opening hours at Ilkley and 8 other libraries across the Bradford District at a meeting on Tuesday, 1 October 2024.
The cuts are in a bid to save the Council £175,000 a year, and 2 options were consulted on during 24th July and 4th September.
Councillors were told the preference from respondents for option 2 (earlier closing on Saturdays combined with additional reductions during the week) over option 1 (lunchtime closure) is very clear.
Respondents opposed to the option to close for an hour at lunchtime were concerned that it would be inconvenient and confusing to remember, excludes those who can only use the library at lunchtime especially working people, and prevents people using the library all day, especially as a warm space during winter.
Users of Ilkley Library expressed their frustrations at the frequency of ad hoc library closures especially especially at lunch times.
Across the district there were 1656 responses to the consultation, of which the highest proportion [22%] came from users of Ilkley Library.
Council members voted for option 2.
The revised opening hours at Ilkley library from April 2025 will be:
Monday and Thursday: 9am-7pm
Tuesday and Wednesday: 9am-5pm
Friday: 9am-12 noon
Saturday: 9.30am-4.30pm