Surrey County Council has shelved plans to consider inviting volunteers to take control of Hersham Library.

The authority is creating a Strategic Library Network, consisting of council-managed branches and others run by volunteers in “community partnerships”.

Its decision-making cabinet agreed to proceed with a pilot community partnership scheme for 10 libraries at a meeting in September.

These are the branches in Bagshot, Bramley, Byfleet, Ewell Court, Lingfield, New Haw, Stoneleigh, Tattenhams, Virginia Water and Warlingham.

At the time, they also agreed to consider nine other libraries – including Hersham’s – for inclusion within the community partnership scheme once the pilot has been in existence for a full year from April 1, 2012 and an evaluation of its success has taken place.

At a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday (December 20), however, the second phase of the project was shelved.

This means that Hersham Library will continue to form part of the council-managed network irrespective of the outcome of the pilot scheme evaluation.