Penryn Town Council has said the town library will no longer open on Saturdays due to weddings in the Town Hall and its inability to provide council staff.

Last week the council announced that it would be taking over the service from Cornwall Council from September 11, at the same time as it moves its offices and staff into the library building on St Thomas Street.

The council has said that, as well as saving money from the lease on its current premises at Saracen House on Upper Market Street, the move will allow it to safeguard the library for the future and keep it open for longer hours, almost trebling them from 15.5 per week to 36.5.

This means that instead of operating for the current, limited hours of one full day on Monday, and half days on Wednesday and Saturday, the library will now be open from 9.30am to 6pm on Mondays, 9.30am to 4.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9.30am to 4pm on Fridays.

However it will be closed at weekends, a time when it is often used by people who cannot access it during working hours, including many parents with young children.

Cas Leo, Penryn town clerk, told the Packet the move had "has safeguarded the library rather than let it close."

He said: "However we have weddings taking place at the town hall on Saturday mornings which require staff provision and don’t have additional staff to open.

"However given there is provision at Falmouth just three miles away, we feel this will suffice on Saturdays. We feel with our long week day provision - especially long on Mondays - and Falmouth’s Saturday provision will make the overall service offered more attractive, with a much greater opportunity to use a library in the future.

"To help sustain the increased hours we will be creating a community volunteer programme similar to the one in Penryn Museum to help run the library."

The town clerk added that questions about the current library staff should be directed to Cornwall Council, which currently employs them.

A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: "No Cornwall Council staff have been negatively impacted by the proposed changes of the opening hours or the transfer of Penryn Library." The Packet is waiting for a response over whether the staff will still have a role in Penryn.

The library will now be inviting the public to train up and help out through its community volunteer programme, and anyone interested can email the town council on 01326 373086.