A TOTAL of eight communities are now set to take over the running of their local libraries.

Dorset County Council agreed to withdraw funding from nine of the county’s libraries last year in a bid to reduce its budget.

Portland’s Underhill Library has since closed its doors and been replaced by a mobile library.

Meanwhile seven other communities, Puddletown, Chickerell, Wool, Burton Bradstock, Charmouth, Colehill and Stalbridge, have been in discussions with the county council about taking on their libraries with support from the library service.

The authority’s cabinet has now been informed that positive talks have recently also taken place between council library bosses and the Corfe Castle community with a view to handing over control of their facility.

The council is aiming to transfer the running of the seven other libraries to the communities in September and has now set a target of handing over Corfe Castle Library next April.

A one-off grant of £2,000 for each community library has also been agreed.