AS Cornwall Council continues its consultation on the future of the One Stop Shop and library services, Callington Town Council has put forward a 'tentative enquiry' to see if it is something it could take on — but will only do so if there is large support for it from the public.

The county council's public consultation about the services runs until June 10 and puts forward two models for discussion and comment — to transfer or 'devolve' the operation of services to other interested parties, such as town/parish councils or community organisations, or to transfer the operation of services to a trust, commercial organisation, social enterprise or introduce further modern technology across the service.

Callington town councillors agreed to put forward a business case to see if and how the services could be saved in the town.

Town clerk Helen Dowdall said: 'Ultimately, we don't want to see any services lost in the town. Councillors agreed to put forward a tentative enquiry subject to public response and the financial impact on the town's budget.

'We've been consulting with Cornwall Council about the future of the services and momentarily we will do what we can to secure it for the residents. We will be asking the residents if they want it and if they would be happy for the town council to fund it.

'While this is not a definitive decision yet, we are taking stock of what people think of the services, whether there is the feeling it needs to be protected and whether the cost should be borne by the town council.

'If we receive no reaction from the public, then there is the possibility that the library and One Stop Shop could be lost.'

Cornwall Council, like other authorities, has to make substantial budget savings of £196-million over the next four years, with savings of £1.8-million having to come from the existing £4-million library and One Stop Shop service budget.

The council has already made changes to how these services are delivered, including amalgamating some One Stop Shops into libraries and introducing self-service kiosks.

Cornwall cabinet member for communities Geoff Brown said: 'The council has a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient service that is accessible to all who wish to use it and has also committed not to reduce the number of branch libraries in Cornwall.

'In order to achieve the savings, we need to review how the service is delivered in the future.

'We want to work with communities, voluntary sector, town and parish councils and other organisations to find the best solutions — as a whole service or for individual library branches.'

Mrs Dowdall added: 'We all know Cornwall Council is going through budget cuts so we need people to speak up or we could see a dramatic change of the service. It could be conducted through telephone or online, social media forms of contact with less face to face opportunity.

'If people feel that face to face contact is essential, we will lobby to protect it. We have put our interest in to Cornwall Council so we can discuss ideas further, but in the meantime we will be discussing with the public whether it is something they want to keep.'

For more information about the library and One Stop Shop consultation, visit your local services or visit http://www.cornwall.gov.uk">www.cornwall.gov.uk