THE FINAL fate of Wirral's eleven closure-threatened libraries lies in the content of a top secret report now locked away at Wallasey town hall.

Wirral's borough solicitor Bill Norman is in receipt of the report compiled by independent inspector Sue Charteris, who in May was appointed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to chair a local inquiry into the controversial closure programme. The DCMS also has a copy.

Mr Norman and a small team of other senior officers now have until August 26 to fact check the report before returning it to Ms Charteris, who will then forward the completed draft to Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw who will have the final say on which - if any - of the libraries will close.

Wirral Conservative group members on the council have complained that as the only group opposing the closures, they should be allowed access to the draft report to see what changes may be made.

A council spokeswoman was unable to tell the Globe whether the draft would however be made available to members of the council's ruling cabinet committee, which is made up of a coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, whose groups support closing the libraries.

In an email sent to a Hoylake Library supporter last week, Ms Charteris, herself a former council chief executive, wrote: "My report has now gone to Bill Norman and to DCMS officials for them to fact check and I have given both parties until August 26 to reply to me.

"I expect to be able to send my report to the Secretary of State in early September. I am advised by DCMS that the Secretary of State will announce his decision at the earliest opportunity following full consideration of the evidence."

Wirral Council proposes closing 11 of the borough's 24 libraries as part of its strategic asset review, which also included the sale or lease of Birkenhead Town Hall, the closure of Grange Road Sports Centre, and the transfer into "community management" of Pacific Road Arts Centre and Leasowe Recreation Centre.

Many community centres, village halls and other services are to lose council funding under the SAR.

The Conservatives say they have 66,000 signatures of protest at the proposed library closures. Labour MPs Stephen Hesford, for Wirral West, and Ben Chapman, for Wirral South, also oppose shutting libraries.