Controversial plans to close a music and drama library has sparked fears for the future of amateur theatre groups across Bradford district.

The Yorkshire Libraries and Information Council (YLI) music and drama collection service, the only archive of its kind in the region, is set to close its doors in April next year.

It is supported by 12 local authorities, with Bradford Council paying thousands of pounds to help run the service, which is based in Wakefield.

A statement on behalf of the service said that due to falling use and a “significant shortfall” in funding, it was no longer financially viable.

John Watmough, treasurer of The Bradford Chorale, which uses the library, said: “This will have a really big impact on this area. In the main, all our music is borrowed from that library.

“They have a superb collection – whatever we want, they can get it – and music and drama groups from the whole area get their music and scripts from there.”

Mr Watmough, a former Bradford Councillor from Bingley, added: “It could mean the end for some groups.”

He is now calling for a re-think on the proposed closure.

Margaret Wilcock, from the Bingley Amateur Operatic Society, echoed Mr Watmough’s concerns. She said the end of the subsidised service would mean a huge increase in the cost of renting musical scripts. She said: “We get our scripts and scores from there and it’s a lot cheaper than other libraries.”

Bradford Council contributes more than £7,000 a year to the service, which houses 500,000 items of music and 90,000 play scripts.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “The decision to cease the music and drama collection service in principle was taken at a Yorkshire Libraries and Information Council meeting on September 30 due to the fall in use and income.”