CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight on after the government said it would not hold an inquiry into the closure of five Bolton libraries.

Bolton Council axed a third of its 15 libraries this year — Astley Bridge , Oxford Grove, Heaton , Highfield, and Castle Hill — as part of a £60 million package of cuts.

The closures brought a storm of criticism and prot-ests from residents and unions, as well as author Philip Pullman, and com-edian Dave Spikey .

Bolton was one of several author-ities in the UK to close libraries, and the government had been urged to hold an inquiry into some of the decisions. But this week Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said, in a letter to the council, he would not be looking into the Bolton closures.

The letter also revealed that, according to the council’s own figures, more than one in 10 people in Bolton have stopped using a library since the closures.

It said that 87 per cent of borr-owers use the remaining 10 libr-aries, but that 96 per cent of the borough’s population still lived within two miles of a library. Mr Vaizey said: “There remains a substantial number of council-run libraries, opening hours have been maintained, or improved, in many cases, and reductions in other cases have only been modest.

“There appear to be no breaches of national library policy, and no other good reason why an inquiry ought to be commenced.”

Ian McHugh, secretary of the Save Bolton Libraries Campaign, which sent a dossier to the government, said: “We’ll be making representations by ass-embling the stron- gest possible case to put back to them.

“They’ve given us a very short win- dow, but we’ll be making the case on behalf of Bolton residents.

“We think it’s something worth fighting for.”

A council spokesman said the town hall welcomed the letter from Mr Vaizey, and would continue to work with his department.

Views on the closure can be sent to the Ministerial Support Team, Department for Culture Media and Sport, 2 to 4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5DY, or by e-mail to enquiries@culture.gov.uk until September 17.