A new mobile library service is being launched on Portland.

The island’s Underhill Library closes at the end of April and the mobile library service will visit the area every Monday, starting April 30.

The new service will be available at the Hambro car park, opposite the Underhill library building from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

With the library service needing to reduce its annual budget by £800,000, county council members last year agreed to retain 25 libraries and offer up the remaining nine to be managed by local communities. Portland Underhill is the county council library which issues the lowest number of books and other items.

Talks with community representatives failed to spark any interest in taking over the running of the building, which is leased by the council and will revert back to its landlord following the closure.

Dorset County Council’s head of community services, Paul Leivers, said: “We are making good progress in our discussions to transfer eight libraries across Dorset to local community control, but there was no desire to do so in the Portland Underhill area.

“The new mobile library service will give local people an opportunity to borrow books without having to travel to neighbouring libraries.”

l The mobile library will visit every Monday (except Bank Holidays) from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The dates are: April 30, July 2, 9, 16 and 23, May 14, 21 and 28, August 20, June 11, 18 and 25, September 3, 10, 17 and 24.