A county councillor for Marlow says he is against the proposal of reducing hours at the town's library in principle, saying he is "concerned" at the move.

Cllr Richard Scott, who represents Marlow south east, said he would need to see strong evidence from his council colleagues before he would get behind any move to shorten hours.

Buckinghamshire County Council run libraries - including High Wycombe, Beaconsfield and Amersham as well as Marlow, could see a scaling back of up to 8.5 hours per week under new plans.

The announcement came just days before last week's World Book Day, after BCC said "enormous" budget pressures were forcing their hand on the issue, with councillors deciding to shave £270,000 from the Library Services budget for 2015/16.

And the Conservative believes the service it is too important to residents to make wholesale changes without proving it is necessary.

He said: "I am very concerned to see the possible reduction in hours at Marlow Library.

"I have asked the council for information that supports the change.

"In principle I am opposed to changing what is a well used service not just by people borrowing books but using it for the internet and students for research.

"I need to see the data about why it should happen but until then I'm against it. We need to full understand why it is being done."

Cllr Scott, who is also leader of Wycombe District Council, says cutting opening hours would also be a concern for tourism services.

With Marlow Information Centre making the switch to the library this month, Cllr Scott says it could have an effect for the thousands of visitors to the town each month.

He said: "Some of the hours aren't that significant but closing on Thursday afternoons is definitely a concern in terms of visitors."

Cllr Scott will take part in the consultation along with other town, district and county councillors.