Lyme Regis campaigners fear county councillors will forge ahead with plans to close threatened libraries – despite promises to consult with communities.

Hope was offered to Dorset’s 20 under-threat libraries when councillors decided to look at ways of making £800,000 of savings elsewhere.

They voted for a resolution to consider ideas proposed by campaign group Ad Lib that could keep all 20 libraries open, including Lyme Regis and Charmouth.

The group suggests cutting opening hours of all libraries by 10 per cent, reducing headquarters staff by the same amount and halving the money spent on books.

But councillors at the full council meeting of Dorset County Council also voted to proceed with a three-month consultation on a proposal to hand over the libraries to community groups.

Funding for these libraries would then be withdrawn in 2012 if enough volunteers are not available to run them. Lyme Regis campaigner Anita Williams has expressed her deep concern over the proposals. She said: “Although the council appears to be agreeing to enter into a full consultation on the library service, I am concerned they are paying only ‘lip service’ to the communities and will continue with their plans to close the threatened libraries, rather than showing any real effort to find an alternative way to save costs within the library service.”

Campaigners from Lyme Regis made the 60-mile round trip to Dorchester on Thursday to join the protest on the steps of County Hall.

Marshwood Vale county councillor Col Geoffrey Brierley held faith with his constituents and was the only member to join the protest, holding a ‘Save our Libraries’ placard.

Ms Williams said they were grateful to Col Brierley’s for his continuing support and for ‘fighting their corner’ at the meeting.

Following Ad Lib’s presentation of a petition of almost 14,000 signatures, Col Brierley suggested there should be further consultation to find a way of making cuts elsewhere in the library service.

He said: “If you look at this petition, you’ll see that there’s very strong feeling about these libraries.

“Without books being available from the county council, how on earth will we survive? We need books and we need computers.

“I propose that the library service examines ways in which the 20 threatened libraries can be supported by making savings elsewhere in the library system.”

But Coun Hilary Cox, cabinet member for the environment, dismissed Ad Lib’s proposals as ‘salami slicing’. She said: “Suggesting we do more salami slicing of our staff, books and hours and waiting for things to get better financially does not seem like the right way forward.”

The council will make its final decision in July. Ms Williams has written to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and to West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin to seek clarification on the proposed cuts.

She is due to meet with Mr Letwin to discuss the issue.

A LYME Regis transport campaigner said some would lose out when the government’s concessionary bus travel scheme is handed over to the county council.

Dorset County Council will take over the scheme, which allows free travel for people aged over 60 and disabled people, from district and borough councils in the county.

But local authorities that offered free bus travel before 9.30am, including West Dorset District Council, will now be brought back in line with all councils and the scheme will operate universally in Dorset from 9.30am to 11pm on weekdays and all day at weekends.

However, councillors agreed that 47 routes throughout Dorset could be used before 9.30am after receiving feedback from residents.

Councillors at a county council cabinet meeting decided that if there is no other bus until 10.30am or later, free bus travel would be allowed before 9.30am. Speaking after the meeting, Philip Sankey, a committee member of The Western Area Transport Group (WATAG) who lives in Lyme Regis, said the new arrangements of the scheme for West Dorset residents means that people will be unable to travel for free from the west of the county to Dorchester before 11am.

Dorset County Council has agreed to make £31million worth of savings, despite a last-ditch attempt to save services.

The council approved the budget for the coming financial year, which will see huge cuts to public services after leader Angus Campbell declared councillors were living in ‘extraordinary’ times. The savings aim to cut £55million from the council budget.