THE controversial decision to move Ponteland Library into the town’s leisure centre has prompted a surge of new members, according to Northumberland County Council.

The community library moved from its site at Thornhill Road and reopened at Ponteland Leisure Centre on November 21, as part of a move to save £58m over the next four years.

The library is then set to move to a new permanent home as part of Ponteland’s £57m shared site development, to be completed by 2019.

The county council said the move had resulted in more than 50 new members joining in the space of a week.

It said a further 50 customers had given positive feedback about better parking, the availability of books, and the convenience of having library and leisure services under one roof.

Opening times have increased from 32 to 100 hours a week and the library now has a self-service machine.

County Councillor Grant Davey, Leader of Northumberland County Council, officially reopened the library last Monday.

He said: “Integrating services in this way has had proven results in other parts of the county, with clear benefits such as longer opening hours, improved accessibility and convenience, and better value for money all round. The new library is already a more valuable service. There’s a real buzz about the place, with people coming into use the leisure centre and sticking around to read a book afterwards.”