Campaigners say they have “no confidence” in plans to shut a Walthamstow library amid claims a council report on its closure is inaccurate.

Waltham Forest Council wants to sell Higham Hill Library and move services to a new premises in Priory Court, which it says will provide better accessibility and improved facilities for communities.

Its report on new plans for libraries in the borough said the current building, in North Countess Road, was not “directly served” by a bus route.

However, the W11 bus, between the Chingford Hall Estate and Walthamstow Bus Station, runs directly past the library.

Residents also say the W11 bus has routinely picked up and dropped off passengers outside the library at a “semi-official” request stop for many years.

Higham Hill resident and library user, Daniela Othieno, said: “If the council is getting such a simple thing wrong, it just proves that no confidence is to be had in any of the other claims, information, estimates and projections.”

Residents have also disputed claims in the report that the library is “dark, unwelcoming, poorly designed” and the new library would be at the “centre of the community”.

Ananda Rutherford, from the campaign group Save Higham Hill Library, said: “Reading the report, it feels like nobody from the council has ever visited the library.

"It seems to have been put together without talking to any local people.”

“The building is top-lit with high ceilings and large windows all around it. 

“This was purpose-built as a library space and the misrepresentation of the building in this way is one of the things that has really brought the community together.”

Under current proposals, new library services would be provided as part of the redevelopment of the Marlowe Road estate and at a “multi-service hub” in Priory Court.

The library building itself, which has stood on the site for 85 years, would also be demolished if plans are approved.

Opponents of the project say the changes offers “false choices” and the downsized services will affect children and older people.

An online petition to save the library has attracted more than 700 signatures since its launch in August.

A consultation on library plans runs until November 30. To take part online, visit: walthamforest.gov.uk/content/consultation-library-improvement-programme.

Waltham Forest council has been contacted for comment.