DORSET county councillors have turned down pleas to provide additional resources to help communities take over libraries threatened with closure.

So far supporters of seven out of nine libraries faced with the loss of core funding from Dorset County Council later this year have submitted business plans to take on the running of the facilities themselves.

Yesterday members of the council’s cabinet approved the latest proposals to allow them to move forward with the handover of control, but turned down a specific request for additional resources to start up the new community libraries.

The council’s head of community services Paul Leivers told the meeting of the cabinet that seven of the communities faced with losing their libraries – those at Chickerell, Puddletown, Wool, Burton Bradstock, Charmouth, Colehill and Stalbridge – had submitted business plans to take on the running of the facilities.

Corfe Castle and Portland Underhill face a very real prospect of closure, although Mr Leivers said the community in Corfe Castle was hoping to hold a meeting in the near future.