LEADING literary figures from North Yorkshire have spoken of their disbelief over a council's decision to charge business rates to volunteer-run libraries.

Best-selling author GP Taylor has described the Hambleton District Council move as "outrageous", prolific novelist Nicholas Rhea said it defied logic, while Thirsk-based stand-up poet Kate Fox added it was "a slap in the face for those volunteers trying so hard to keep these vital libraries going in the face of cuts".

Award-winning Private Eye cartoonist and author Mike Barfield, of Helperby, said: "Librarians used to hand out the fines. Now it seems it's the district council."

The authority has been facing mounting pressure to grant 100 per cent business rates relief to the community ventures in Stokesley, Bedale, Thirsk and Easingwold, which are due to take over the management of libraries from North Yorkshire County Council in the spring.

Some of the volunteers groups said having to pay 20 per cent of business rates - a fee that is applied to all charitable premises - could jeopardise their schemes, while others said it left them with a fundraising headache.

Hambleton's leaders have disputed claims the row is over waiving about £25,000, and said if it granted the exemptions it faced a £350,000 loss of income from charities across the district, which was equivalent to running a leisure centre for six months.

They have suggested parish authorities could raise their council tax demands to make up the shortfall and while the six other district councils in the county have agreed to completely waive business rates for volunteer-run libraries, Hambleton District Council was being financially prudent.

GP Taylor, whose books have been translated into 48 languages, said he had been stunned by Hambleton's decision and said it was "an absolute disgrace".

He said: "We have volunteers who are trying to keep what are in effect community centres open, and with this they could ultimately end up closing. It's not just about books, a lot of people use libraries for internet access, so this could impoverish the lives of many, especially in rural areas."

Mr Rhea, whose Constable novels inspired TV series Heartbeat, said it was clear the district council was adding to the burden on the volunteers.

"I would imagine that if a library is closed however temporarily or for whatever reason, the chances of it reopening would be nil", he said. "That would be tragic, not only for readers of light fiction, but for all readers and students, young or old."