CAMPAIGNERS have been granted permission to legally challenge the decision to turn Rhoose library into a community library.

Rhoose villagers have been campaigning against the Vale council's decision for more than year and most recently saw their legal challenge rejected at the High Court.

The campaigners - who are objecting to the plans for Rhoose library to close unless local people volunteer to take over the running - have now been given the right to progress a new legal challenge on the grounds that the viability of a community library, and the impact on the community should it fail, was not properly assessed by the council. The hearing will be held in July.

The campaigners are arguing that the council did not fully assess the sustainability of the model, or take into account feedback from the local community which demonstrated that there would be problems finding enough volunteers to support the project.

In 2015, the Save Rhoose Library campaign group instructed one of Wales’ leading experts in Administrative and Public law, Michael Imperato of Watkins & Gunn Solicitors to help fight the closure.

Michael Imperato, a partner at south Wales solicitors Watkins & Gunn, has acted for individuals and campaign groups in a number of high profile judicial review cases against national and local government in Wales over the last few years and was successful in working with Rhydyfelin Library Support Group forcing Rhondda Cynon Taff council into a u-turn decision to reopen Rhydyfelin library.

Karen Heenan-Davies, one of the Save Rhoose library campaigners, said: “At every step of the way Vale Council has failed the people of Rhoose and the neighbouring villages who use the library. It failed to assess if it was realistic to run the library with volunteers and failed to consider whether it could be sustained by voluntary financial contributions.

“Even more significantly, the council failed to consider how its plan would impact local school children who use the library for homework assignments, job seekers who need the computer equipment to register for work and elderly people who see the library as their way of keeping connected with the community. We plan to challenge the shortcomings of the council’s actions when the case is heard in July.”

Michael Imperato said: “We were very disappointed last year when the judge ruled against our campaign. However, the judge made this decision on the premise that the library would not be closed but would be a community run library, which was stated within the council’s plans.

“However, as mentioned at the time, the Vale of Glamorgan Council did not properly consider the viability of a community library nor the impact on the community should a community library fail.”