I AM concerned that NCC has got its priorities wrong. Borrowing £90 million for the dubious gain of residents being able to spend more money with large multi-national companies (sucking money out of the area) on the one hand, and cutting access to the possibility of wisdom and knowledge on the other, smacks of a (thinly) veiled corporatocracy.

Libraries are vital centres of learning and it concerns me that any attempt to close even one of them is an assault on the ability of all generations to understand more, achieve more and build a future without repeating the mistakes of history. There is also the spectre of pitting one community against another – in this case the community of Malpas against that of Bettws. Both communities would find the public transport travel options untenable. Inevitably one community would be discriminated against.

The Malpas Library and the Malpas Community Centre have a symbiant relationship. The closure of one would have a knock-on effect upon the other. No alternative models of library operation have been forthcoming. For example, Britton Ferry has a successful Library Trust. Libraries are so much more than a public service – they are an investment in the future.

Pippa Bartolotti, Yewberry Lane, Newport