More than 2,000 people have signed a petition demanding that Melksham Library is not moved under controversial council plans.

Wiltshire Council has consulted on a plan to create a new community hub with a state-of-the-art leisure centre for Melksham. It has been speculated that the library could become part of the hub,which is part of a county-wide cost-cutting plan to reduce the number of properties owned by the council.

Although no location for the hub has been confirmed, it is widely thought that it would be built next to the new Melksham Oak School at Bowerhill.

Wiltshire councillor Jon Hubbard, for the Melksham Spa ward, has led a Save Melksham Library campaign which has collected 2,184 signatures.

Cllr Hubbard believes putting the library in the hub would be too far out of town. The distance between the library’s current location at Lowbourne and Devizes Road, at Bowerhill, is about 1.5 miles.

He said: “This petition is about the possibility of moving our town centre library to the edge of town. It is by no means anti the campus idea, in fact we support it. There is, however, considerable concern that taking the library out of the centre will be detrimental to Melksham.

“A large number of job seekers use the library computers to look for work and if it were to be moved out of town they would have the barrier of an expensive bus fare to get to it.

“A lot of older people who shop in the town also take refuge in the library and make use of the facilities.

“If we move the library we will be removing this magnet to bringing people into the town and Melksham is struggling to keep control of its town centre already.”

There are also fears that moving the library out of town would mean that the four primary schools currently within walking distance would not be able to use it so easily.

The council has quashed rumours that the library would be closing. Cllr John Noeken, cabinet member for resources, said rumours that the library was to move to a new campus were premature as no detailed proposals had yet been made by the council. He said: “This petition is misleading and muddled. The closure of Melksham Library has never been discussed by anyone. There is no such proposal and it is a myth.”

The petition will now be referred to the next meeting of Melksham Area Board on December 1 at Shaw Primary School where it will be discussed further.