STOKENCHURCH Library is set to remain open after volunteers came forward to keep it.

In June cllr Martin Phillips warned in the Free Press that the service in the village could be lost if not enough volunteers came forward.

But following a successful stall at the village fête and further meetings a business plan was put forward by the Stokenchurch Library Working Group.

This has been approved by a Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) project board and the final stage of approval will be when Cllr Phillips, who is the cabinet member for community engagement, makes the final decision, which is expected to be in September.

It is then hoped it will then move into an implementation stage for the new library in November.

Cllr Phillips said: "The Stokenchurch Community Library Group is growing from strength to strength and now has a credible plan in place to deliver a community library in Stokenchurch.

"They are building a strong base of community support and are on course to launch an innovative and creative local library service. I would like to thank the Bucks Free Press for helping to build support for the library across the community."

The library was threatened with closure after BCC announced it wanted communities to run their own libraries, in a money saving exercise.

Since last April five self managed libraries have been launched.