DEVON County Council has announced changes that will cut the cost of its mobile library service, leaving it more financially sustainable for the future.

Under the changes, 65 of the most under-used mobile library stops will be removed from routes from April onwards.

Users of the remaining 454 stops will see the frequency of visits change from fortnightly to monthly.

The changes will help the Council save up to £125,000 a year towards the £110million cuts the council faces over the next four years due to Government funding reductions.

Consultation about the proposals before Christmas drew 1,585 responses from mobile library users. Of the 62 responses, 70 per cent said they will continue to use the library service in other ways – either using other mobile stops; their nearest static library; or the Home Library Service.

The majority also said they would continue to use the service on the new four weekly basis.

Cllr Roger Croad, the council’s cabinet member, said: “When we reviewed the mobile library service three years ago, we introduced a criteria to ensure stops were well used.

“A small number of stops have, over time, become significantly underused, and the service costs significantly more per customer compared to our static libraries.

“I would like to thank all those who responded to the consultation. I’m pleased that, with their comments, we’ve decided to keep four of the stops that we had previously proposed for withdrawal.

“I’m also pleased that most people by far have said they’ll continue to use our library services.”

The changes will come into effect from April, with new timetables published in February.