Hertfordshire County Council is progressing plans to axe its performing arts library service – but is now looking at an alternative arrangement that would mean the collections could still be available to local groups.

Running alongside traditional library services, the county council's performing arts service currently loans scripts and music to performing arts organisations in Hertfordshire and beyond.

But earlier this year, the council drew up plans to withdraw the service in a bid to cut £230,00 from the library service's annual running costs.

And since then, a number of organisations across the county have called for the council to continue with the service.

Reports published in advance of next week's meeting of the council's resources and performance cabinet panel reveal that the council is set to push ahead with plans to withdraw the existing service.

But they also show that arrangements could now be made for the existing collection to continue to be available.

According to the report, the drama playsets could be made available through the library's 'reading group collection', in the same way that multiple sets of books are loaned to book clubs.

And it suggests there may be an alternative that would make the existing music collection available to groups and individuals through the Hertfordshire Music Service and a Hertfordshire-based charity.

Acknowledging the volume and passion of responses received as part of the council's eight-week public consultation, executive member for resources and performance Cllr Lucas stresses the need for the council to make necessary savings.

But he suggests that a potential partnership with the charity to provide music to groups "was a way of hopefully squaring the circle".

"We are looking to work with a Hertfordshire-based charity in order to maintain the music collection, "said Cllr Lucas (Liberal Democrat, Hitchin South).

"There are a few logistics that we need to overcome that, sadly, won't be done in time for the cabinet panel.

"But we will be working towards an outcome whereby current users of the performing arts collection will still have access to through resources, working with a local partner."

According to the cabinet panel report, the performing arts collection has a total of 3,098 titles.

And in the 2025 calendar year, there were 721 orders for musical material and 342 for drama, placed by 162 music groups and 54 drama groups.

The county council consulted on the proposed withdrawal of the performing arts service for eight weeks earlier this year, between March 6 and May 5.

Of the 1,286 responses received, 57% pointed to the higher costs their groups would face should the service be withdrawn – with some suggestions that commercial alternatives would be "prohibitively expensive".

And 39% of respondents suggested that groups – many of which were said to "operate at break-even or loss already" – would close.

"A dominant concern is that many choirs, orchestras, play-reading groups and drama societies would be unable to continue at all," says the report.

"Smaller, volunteer-run and older-person groups are seen as particularly vulnerable."

According to the report, 34% of respondents pointed to the lack of alternatives, 36% to the impact on mental health, well-being and social benefits and 28% to the impact on culture.

According to the report, the public consultation demonstrated "strong support for exploring alternative solutions that could preserve ongoing public access to the collection".

And it states: "This has created a positive opportunity for Hertfordshire County Council to work with Hertfordshire Music Service and with Benslow Music, an established charity with a strong musical and educational focus, to explore whether all or part of the music stock could transition into a future model that would continue to support public access and use.

"These discussions are ongoing and, while no final arrangement has yet been agreed, they represent a constructive and potentially sustainable route for the future stewardship of the music assets."

Cllr Ian Albert (Labour, Hitchin North) has welcomed the council's move away from its initial proposal.

But he says there must be further scrutiny of any agreement between the county council and Benslow Music before a final decision is made.

He said: "The performing arts library must be retained as a collection available for loan in one way or another by our performing arts groups.

"For over 40 years, Hertfordshire Music Service has successfully delivered musical opportunities to generations of young people throughout the county.

"Benslow Music, in my town of Hitchin, is a wonderful organisation that creates music learning opportunities for all ages.

"But the details of the agreement between the county council and Benslow Music must be subject to further consideration and scrutiny before the final decision is made."

'Whether to cease the performing arts service provision' will be considered by a meeting of the council's resources and performance cabinet panel on Tuesday (July 14), with a decision taken by a future meeting of the council's cabinet